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Letters From Monte Carlo 










Casino de Monte Carlo — La Fortune, par L. Hodebert 










LETTERS FROM 
MONTE CARLO 

BY 

YSOBEL ROXOLO / 

II 



OK. Christopher Publishing House 
Boston, U. S. A. 




Copyright 1923 

By The Christopher Publishing House 



MAR 22 1323 ■ g 

© Cl A698718 X 


L. 


44 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath under¬ 
standing count the number of the beast: 
for it is the number of a man: and his 
number is six hundred threescore and six/ f 
— Rev. Chap. XIIL Verse 18. 































FOREWORD 


Nothing was more undreamed of by 
the writer of these vivid and amusing 
“Letters from Monte Carlo” than any 
publication of them. While the author 
preserves anonymity, it may still be 
permitted to say that she is one of the 
most brilliant American women, of cos¬ 
mopolitan life and culture, an artist 
who has already won high distinction 
in her own especial line of work, and, 
withal, a writer of verse, some of which 
would do no discredit to a poet of rec¬ 
ognized fame. Not unnaturally, out of 
this sympathetic and poetic tempera¬ 
ment, she is a well-known and charm¬ 
ing figure in social life, to which she 
carries the exquisite courtesy, the gen¬ 
erous thoughtfulness, the infinite kind¬ 
ness of heart that finds expression in 
myriad ways. “I think the lastingness 
of results from a social position, ade¬ 
quately filled, is something grievously 
underestimated,” said George Eliot, 



8 


FOREWORD 


with her unerring insight into the prob¬ 
lems of life. Humanity is coming to 
recognize that the qualities that make 
for righteousness find room for exercise 
in the ball-room as well as in the con¬ 
vent; that “the field is the world,’’ and 
that it is in the common, daily life that 
the tests of our ideals must be met. 

These Letters, penned solely as a 
mere jeu d’esprit to amuse and enter¬ 
tain an invalid friend, came to be passed 
around, a little, personally, and friends 
who enjoyed them found the pages so 
unique a mirror of the life at Monte 
Carlo, (always more or less of a fas¬ 
cinating mystery) that persuasions 
were brought to bear upon their writer 
to permit them a wider circulation. To 
have recast them in any more academic 
form would have been to lessen that 
spontaneity, and “snap-shot” depiction 
of the moment, in which lies a sparkling 
interest more easily felt than defined. 
They picture a prismatic life led by a 
strange section of humanity,—the born 
adventurers who hover on the brink of 
tragedy, of ghastly failure; whose 


FOREWORD 


9 


counters are phases of destiny, and who 
well illustrate the quicksands that en¬ 
gulf those who pursue pleasure as a sole 
aim in existence. If this little picture 
of those who are dans le mouvement in 
a very problematic order of life, shall 
serve to emphasize the emptiness and 
destruction of the life of the senses, 
and the beauty and happiness of all 
noble and significant living, the au¬ 
thor’s aim will he amply fulfilled. 

A. H. C. 






















LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Casino de Monte Carlo— La Fortune, par L. 
Hodebert 

Principaute de Monaco—Le Palais Du Prince 
and La Condamine 

Ascenceur (Elevator) from Train, Directly 
up to the Casino Entrance 

The Casino, Monte Carlo, Directly in front, 
at Middle Entrance 

Trente, quarante Table 

Cafe de Paris, Opposite the Casino 

Central Walk down to the Casino through 
the Gardens 

On the Front, Where we walk mornings 

BETWEEN ELEVEN AND TWELVE O'CLOCK 

Monaco— La Cathedrale, Where the Royal 
Weddings are held 

Picturesque Scene at Monaco Wedding 
At the Tables “Rien ne va plus” 

The Man we call u Jewels” 






ROULETTE DE MONACO 






Letters From Monte Carlo 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

I am sure it has not been as long as 
you say in your letter, since I wrote 
you, however, I have been very much 
occupied, lately, nursing my poor sick 
husband who has had the “flu,” so I 
am sure you will excuse my apparent 
neglect. The climate of Monte Carlo 
is so changeable, and although we came 
down here to the Riviera this winter to 
keep warm, as we were about frozen in 
Paris, yet we have found it anything 
but warm here. The hotels give no heat 
except for an hour in the morning, and 
for a little while in the evening, be¬ 
tween six and seven. You are sup¬ 
posed to go to the Casino in the eve¬ 
ning, so they see no need of wasting 
coal, and we have to sit about bundled 
up in furs, whenever we return to our 
hotel from the Casino. All the world 
here (the Monte Carlo world) goes to 
the Casino to get warm, as it is the 



14 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


only place where they give heat ( all 
day and all night. The benches in the 
Atrium are full, the tables crowded, 
and naturally, since there is no other 
place to go to where one can be com¬ 
fortable, one amuses oneself by playing 
at roulette or trente-quarente to pass 
the time. 

They say that the Casino has never 
made so much money as this first year 
after the war, even though the high 
season has not really begun. The 
great crowds come around Easter, as 
you no doubt know. 

I have not been down to “The 
Rooms” for several days, but since my 
friends come to me, I hear all the news. 
You would be amazed at the number of 
Americans who have bought villas here, 
all the way from Monte Carlo to Nice 
in one direction, and from Monte Carlo 
to Mentone in the other. One really 
never tires of the wonderful Mediter¬ 
ranean. All along its beautiful shores 
are no less than five gambling houses, 
one at Cannes, one at Nice, two at 
Monte Carlo, another at Mentone, and 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


15 


still another at Bordighera, just over 
the line in Italy. Why the Casino at 
Monte Carlo is so much more celebrated 
than the others, or why it is more fre¬ 
quented, I cannot say unless it be owing 
to the fact that nowhere else is roulette 
permitted to be played. A friend who 
professes to know, told me today all 
about how the croupiers are trained. It 
seems that there is a school in the base¬ 
ment of the Casino building where they 
are taught. A prospective croupier be¬ 
gins his training at the age of eighteen. 
The pupils attend lessons every morn¬ 
ing, and there they are schooled by the 
head croupier. They are taught not only 
how to spin the ball, but to make rapid 
calculations, to skillfully wield the 
racquet or the palette, to gather up as 
rapidly as possible the money lost by 
the players, and to pay those who have 
won. It takes a would-be croupier six 
months before he can enter “The 
Rooms” and take a position at one of 
the tables for duty, but some are much 
longer in acquiring the requisite calm 
and steady nerves. We hear all sorts 


16 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


of tales of how their nerves are tested 
below stairs, before they are permitted 
to take such a nerve racking position. 
They must play on and on, at least two 
hours on, two hours off, all day, and 
never turn an eyelash no matter what 
happens at the table. You see, Elea- 
nora, darling, it takes some nerve to go 
on announcing “ Messieurs fait vos 
jeux, vos jeux sont fait , rien ne va 
plus ” if your shirt front is be-spattered 
with the brains of the person next to 
you who has most indiscreetly shot 
himself at the tables, but such is the 
croupier’s training that he must be 
ready for any such emergency and not 
allow the game to stop for an instant, 
nor look to the right or the left as the 
limp body is hastily whisked away 
through one of the secret panels in the 
wall, by the ever watchful attendants. 
I suppose some such thing is bound to 
occur in the long run but I will tell 
you quite frankly I have never been 
witness to such a scene. 

I must not give you a wrong idea of 
Monte Carlo to begin with. To most 



Principaute de Monaco — Le Palais Du Prince and La Condamine 























LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


17 


people the very word means gambling, 
but Monte Carlo is, first of all, one of 
the world’s greatest winter resorts, to 
which come the aristocracy of all coun¬ 
tries, because of the mild climate and 
the beauty of the scenery. 

All along the Mediterranean, from 
Cannes to Mentone, are scattered the 
most beautiful villas, all uniform in 
color, a rich cream white with red tiled 
roofs. To stand on the terrace of the 
Casino in the morning, overlooking the 
Mediterranean, one is enthralled by the 
beauty of the scene. The skies are of 
an intense blue which is only rivalled 
by the deeper blue of the water. The 
shore is very rocky and on a stormy 
day when the wind is high, to watch 
the waves dash upon the rocks is a fav¬ 
orite pastime. Alas, what secrets lie hid¬ 
den in the depths of her bosom, you 
wonder, as you see the great white 
spray dashing up high, and hear the 
moaning and the crying of the waves. 
I say to myself with the poet:— 


18 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


“What wild emotion fills thy heaving breast 
Oh! Sea, of ever changing countenance ? 
Moaning as thy agonizing form 
Lifts high its breasts, then sighing, sinks 
Into itself again 

To lose itself in everlasting misery. 

Dashing thyself upon the rocks 
As if to end the torture of thy soul 
Hast thou within thy bosom 
Sorrows unconfessed 

Hidden mysteries thou darest not reveal? 
Thy bare white arms reach up to Heaven 
In pleading cries and ceaseless mutterings. 
Culpa! Mea Culpa! Confiteor! Confiteor!” 

Looking to the left one sees the villa 
of the Ex-Empress Eugenie across the 
bay at Cap Martin, where she has re¬ 
sided winter after winter to enjoy the 
benefit of the wonderful sunshine, and 
the dry, bracing air. To the right along 
the shore are the villas of several 
Grand Dukes of Russia, great poten¬ 
tates of India, and of celebrities from 
all over the world. Farther along the 
shore towards Nice the Grand Duchess 
Anastasia of Russia has built her villa 
directly on the Mediterranean, and 
still farther along is the Villa Mura- 
tore, owned and occupied, during the 
season, by the opera singer and his 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


19 


famous wife, Cavellieri. Still farther 
along the shore upon the top-most ridge 
of the mountain, in the ancient town of 
Eze, the former Duchess of Marlboro 
(now Madame Balsal) is building a 
most gorgeous castle, and still farther 
along is the villa of James Gordon Ben¬ 
nett, and that of the Duke of Con¬ 
naught. The majority of visitors come 
to Monte Carlo for its wonderful cli¬ 
mate, but all sooner or later go to the 
Casino, at first as a matter of curiosity, 
later, to find one’s friends of an after¬ 
noon, or thinking, ‘‘I’ll just try my 
luck for once.” If, at the first play, 
one wins, the temptation is great to 
play again, and from that moment one’s 
fate is decided, as it were. 

Monte Carlo is a place that seems to 
breed mystery and sensationalism. 
When you enter the doors of the Casino, 
you are closely inspected by three men 
at every door through which you pass. 
The first time you go to the Casino 
various men posted at a small counter 
in a room to the left of the entrance ask 
for your papers of identity, and fill up 


20 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


a card of admission for you, but that is 
not all. Two or three other individuals 
are walking up and down there non¬ 
chalantly, their hands behind their 
backs. One of them makes some idle 
joke, to which you politely respond, 
while three pairs of eyes take a mental 
photograph of you. If you should not 
return to Monte Carlo for ten years 
from that time these men would recog¬ 
nise you. These officials, who are 
known as physiognomists, have the gift 
of never forgetting a face, once seen. 
They are said to receive large salaries 
for this service. They have at their dis¬ 
posal men who are ready to go at a mo¬ 
ment’s notice to any part of the world 
to follow a person indicated, to look up 
his past record, record his every move¬ 
ment, where he dines, who are his com¬ 
panions, if he lives alone, what are his 
daily habits, in fact, to report the ful¬ 
lest possible particulars to the authori¬ 
ties here. He is not told why he is to 
do this service, he simply obeys orders. 
After you pass these guardians of the 
portals, as it were, you may enter “The 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


21 


Rooms” provided you have already ob¬ 
tained the necessary ticket. 

At the Casino there are only two 
games one can play, roulette and 
trente-quarente. There is a limit as to 
the amount you may play on a single 
number at one time (nine louis) but no 
limit as to the days, and months, and 
years, summer and winter, Sunday, as 
well as week days, you may play here. 
Your only limit in that respect is your 
pocket book, or your conscience. To be 
admitted to the inner rooms (salle 
prive) you must pay one hundred 
francs and have a special ticket. Here 
is where the aristocracy of the world 
plays, Kings (incognito), Princes, 
Dukes, Duchesses, Opera singers, act 
resses, American millionaires, from all 
countries. 

To play in the outer rooms one has 
only to show one’s visiting card to ob¬ 
tain a day ticket, and it is this room 
only which the tourist sees, in his one 
day’s visit to Monte Carlo. I will tell 
you more about it in my next letter, 
as now, I am going down to “The 


22 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


Rooms” to make my fortune. Wouldn’t 
it be exciting if I should break the 
bank? 

Best love, and I am so glad that my 
letters cheer you up, as you say they do. 

Yours devotedly 

Ysobel 



THE CASINO, MONTE CARLO 
Directly in front at Middle Entrance 












































LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


23 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

I am afraid I rather left off in the 
middle of my last letter, I was in such a 
hurry to get down to the Casino, where 
I had not been for several days. Well, 
I was repaid, for I made four thousand 
francs, which quite makes up my 
losses so far this season. You cannot 
imagine the excitement of playing, los¬ 
ing a mille , then wondering if you had 
better go on, or pocket the loss and 
stop playing. You put your hand in 
your bag, hesitate a moment and are 
lost. It is my theory never to stop 
playing if my loss is only a few mille , 
for if you are careful and go right on 
you are bound to win it back in the 
end, only you must know when to stop 
playing. I assure you that there are 
many people living here, who go to the 
Casino every day just to get two louis, 
to give their cooks to market with for 
the day. In other words, they live by 
the tables. As there are no taxes at 


24 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


all in Monte Carlo, it is an ideal place 
for the people of limited circumstances 
provided they are content to play very 
little. You know it stands to reason 
that no one loses all the time. One wins, 
one loses, sometimes being a little ahead 
of the game, then going behind again. 
The thing to do is to have enough 
strength of mind to stop playing when 
you are ahead. The life of Monte Carlo 
for the visitor is to walk on the front in 
the morning, between ten and twelve, 
and after luncheon go to “The Rooms” 
or to the golf links. Everyone meets 
friends somewhere for tea; then it is a 
question whether one returns to “The 
Rooms” or to one’s home or hotel, to 
rest before dinner. There is always the 
concert in the afternoon, at three, and 
the opera, or ballet in the evening, all 
in the Casino building. Just at present 
we have been having a season of ballet 
and theatrical performances in French. 
The opera season will open next month 
with a gala performance followed by a 
ball, in the atrium, the tickets being 
a hundred francs each. After the ball 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 25 

will be drawn the grand lotterie, for 
which the first prize is an automobile. 
Since gas is so dear and so difficult to 
get I hope I shall not draw the motor. It 
will be a wonderful evening, and I will 
surely write you all about it. There 
were some very distinguished people in 
“The Rooms’’ this afternoon. Lady de 
Bathe (Lily Langtry) was there play¬ 
ing at trente quarente, with plaques, 
one hundred franc pieces. I heard some¬ 
one say “wouldn’t you hate to have 
been a famous beauty, once?” I don’t 
find her so much changed, only one 
misses the stage makeup, since she is 
one of the very few women who do not 
need powder and color to make her a 
beauty, even in the day time. I often 
say to my husband, “I wish money 
would buy me a new face,” but alas and 
alas, the one I have grows older and old-' 
er, and time will not stand still, or cos¬ 
metics remedy matters. Naturally, 
wherever Lady de Bathe plays, there is 
a crowd directly. She has most won¬ 
derful clothes. “Callot” written all 
over them. She certainly is still worth 


26 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


looking at. Last evening, being New 
Year’s eve, all the world (the Monte 
Carlo world) went to the Sporting Club, 
after many brilliant dinner parties at 
the Hotel de Paris. Never, since the 
war, have I seen so many celebrities 
there. Among them the Duchess of 
Marlboro, who, by the way, the whole of 
England loves, I am told; and Count 

E-, with his latest friend Mrs. B., 

whose husband is seeking a divorce 
from her. The Count also is ask¬ 
ing for a divorce from his wife, so 
who knows but he may marry her in 
time. Mrs. B.’s aunt saw her there and 
directly there was a flurry. Mrs. B.’s 
father supposes her to be with her sis¬ 
ter, where he had sent her to keep her 
out of the way of the Count after the 
scandal of their Egyptian trip. Seeing 
her aunt and fearing a scene, she es¬ 
caped by another door, thinking no 
doubt, that discretion was the better 
part, just then. Another person very 
much looked at, was the Monte Carlo 
wife of a Prince of India. She is really 
a great beauty, young and petite , and 



LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


27 


always most modestly gowned. There 
was also the Duke and Duchess of F., 
and the Baroness Greuse, who is one of 
the highest players here. In spite of the 
many well known faces here, one misses 
the old habitues of before the war. The 

Grand Duchess G-, being German, 

is no longer here, nor does one see the 

King of S-, the Princess of P-, 

Adelaide N- or the man with 

the big foot. Five years have made 
many changes but none so extraordi¬ 
nary as the great increase in the num¬ 
bers of people who come to gamble. I 
have seen some very large winners 
this year, but there seems not to be 
so many millionaires playing high 
stakes. Before the war one was always 
on the lookout for a certain million¬ 
aire from New York who was play¬ 
ing heavily, and losing, just to play 
against him. It may be that they will 
all come later, when the high season be¬ 
gins. There is a young Belgian here 
at present who has had phenomenal 
luck, playing maximums at trente- 
quarente. One day he made 275,000 




28 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


francs, and left town the next. If he 
had only remained away, but no, I have 
always said Monte Carlo money is be¬ 
witched and must come back home. He 
is here again, and this time losing 
heavily. No doubt he will leave it all 
where he found it, at the tables. It is 
the usual way. They tell a story here 
of a Russian who, twenty-one years 
ago, made a huge fortune at the tables 
and immediately left for Russia. The 
croupiers all said “ Never mind, he will 
come back.” He stayed away twenty- 
one years, then returned, only to lose 
it all, and more. It is the usual way, 
one always thinks to make more—not 
counting the chances of losing. After 
all, it is from the small players and holi¬ 
day crowds that the bank makes money. 
They are legions. Naturally, coming 
in to “The Rooms” with no knowl¬ 
edge of the game, they crowd around 
the tables, reaching over the heads of 
the crowds to play their one or two 
five franc pieces, on any number they 
fancy or have dreamed about the 
night before, and the rake gathers in 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


29 


their money. The losers are always 
the suspicious ones, wondering if the 
tables can be manipulated by the crou¬ 
piers. When they lose, they are sure 
there is some trick about it, but never¬ 
theless it is really an honest game. 
That is conceded by old habitues, and 
by those long resident here. The only 
thing the player contends against is 
the skill of the croupier in rolling the 
ball. The only real way I know of to 
win is to study carefully the way the 
croupier is rolling. If he is rolling 
voisines, (that is, numbers near the last 
number to win,) or if he is rolling the 
other side of the wheel. For instance, 
if the number seventeen has just come 
up, you will watch carefully to see how 
far away from seventeen the ball falls 
the next time. If it falls half way across 
the wheel, it would be as well to go to 
another table, and find a croupier who is 
rolling voisines (neighbors),should you 
wish to play voisines. Then select seven 
numbers on each side of seventeen and 
play “en plain’’ (on one number) on 
several of these numbers, for an “en 


30 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

plain” you win thirty-five times your 
“Mise” (play), and, as there are thirty- 
six numbers to play, you must cover a 
good many numbers in order to stand a 
chance of winning, as a skillful croupier 
(whose business is to win for the Bank) 
can roll against you when he “gets 
on” to your play. I often amuse myself 
playing my wits against his, when I see 
that he is laying in wait for me, but that 
is too dangerous a game. One is pretty 
sure to lose in the end. How I do run 
on, dearest Eleanora. You have brought 
it upon yourself, you see, by asking me 
to write you all about the game, and 
Monte Carlo in general. I really am 
excited to-day on account of my good 
luck yesterday. I, like all the rest of 
the world here, have got the fever for 
play. I shall be cured when I begin to 
lose again, and probably hate the place, 
until the next lucky day. Best love to 
all. Tell me when my letters begin to 
bore you. 


Very fondly 


Ysobel 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


31 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

I was telling you in my last letter 
something about systems. Everyone 
who has played here for some time, has 
either bought a system, or has evolved 
one for himself. The shop windows 
are full of them. I have bought several, 
but have found none that is infal¬ 
lible. I have been trying a new 
system lately given me by a very 
clever woman who seems to be win¬ 
ning a great deal. She uses the Py¬ 
thagoras system of the vibration of 
numbers. This is her method. She 
takes the day of the week, we will say 
Monday, January 11, 1919, and spells 
out the whole thing in numbers as fol¬ 
lows: Pythagoras contended that every 
letter of the alphabet vibrated to one 
of nine numbers: as follows: 
123456789 
abcdefghi 
j k 1 mno p q r 
s t u vwx y z 


32 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


Monday spells 4 6 5 4 1 7=27=9. 
You add these numbers making 27, 
the digit of which adding 2&7 is 9. 
Therefore Monday vibrates to a nine. 
January spelled in numbers is 1 1 5 3 
1 9 7=added makes 27=9 a curious co¬ 
incident. The 11th added 1 and 1 
makes 2. Therefore Monday, January 
11, 1919, equals 9-9-2-2. These added 
make 22=4. Therefore the day vibrat¬ 
ed to a 4. You would not only play 4, 
but any numbers which make four, 
which are 13, 22, 31. This is a very sim¬ 
ple example. Some days vibrate to 
more numbers as you will see if you 
work it out. For example, Wednesday, 
January 14, 1920, spells 

554551417=37=10=1 (Wednesday) 
1153197=27=9 (January) 
14th=5 
1920=12=3 

1-9-5-3=18=9, therefore 9 is the 
vibrating number of the day. In this 
case one would play every number 
which added makes a nine, such as 36, 
27, 18, 9, also playing the numbers 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


33 


which have been added up to make the 
day, 1-9-5-3. 

I will write you about all the sys¬ 
tems I hear of, as I think you may find 
them useful if you ever come to Monte 
Carlo. Poor darling, will you ever 
leave your bed of pain again 1 ? Lady 

W-today told me of her system. 

She sits at one table all day without 
playing a sou, (not that one is allowed 
to play sous, that is only a figure of 
speech) and keeps a record of every 
number which comes out. When she 
finds that all the numbers except three 
have been called, she hurriedly puts 
“en pleins” on each of these three re¬ 
maining numbers. I saw her playing 
her system at six o’clock this after¬ 
noon, after having waited all day long 
to play. I didn’t see her getting rich 
by it, but then I couldn’t stay there all 
night, I was playing the Pythagoras 
system at the same time, and I must 
say mine worked better than hers, for I 
won quite a few thousand francs by it. 
The simplest game of all, is to play 
simple chances either at Roulette or at 



34 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


trente-quarente. That is, play either 
on red or on black. You see then you 
have an even chance with the bank. 
Should you lose the first play you are 
supposed to keep doubling until you 
win. It is the rarest thing in the world 
for a color to run more than six times, 
although it has been known to run as 
many as twenty-three times on one col¬ 
or. At roulette one can play odd or 
even numbers in the same way, or back 
the upper half of the table against the 
lower half. Of course there are a lot of 
foolish people who come here with the 
idea of breaking the bank. In this class 
was a young bridal couple who came 
here last week with no knowledge of the 
game, and no capital except 2000 francs, 
and hopes. They quickly lost all they 
had, then met a friend who loaned them 
500 francs because they represented to 
him that they had a sure system and 
would divide profits. They played for 
several days, first winning, then losing, 
then winning again, until the friend 
asked for a division of the profits. “Oh, 
we can’t pay you yet,” said the man, 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


35 


‘ 4 we have spent the money. You see we 
paid our hotel bill, and my wife needed 
so many new dresses and hats, and 
there isn’t any money left, but we will 
divide as soon as we win.” That is not 
an unusual story here. There is a rule 
among hotel managers to present their 
bills every three days, no one can run a 
bill any longer. Should a person lose all 
his money, the Casino will give him a 
second class ticket to his home. Last 
year I heard of a man who applied for 
a ticket to Constantinople for himself, 
his wife, and child. They gave him the 
three tickets demanded, and he depart¬ 
ed. Shortly afterwards his wife and 
child appealed to their consul for help. 
It seemed that the man had left them 
behind, and gone off with the money. 
The woman wept night and day, say¬ 
ing, “I want my husband, I want my 
husband,” until they finally gave her 
the two tickets necessary to take her 
home, but we never heard whether she 
found her husband, who had deserted 
her, or not. At least the public never 
knew what became of her. There are 


36 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


many such tragedies here, as you may 
imagine. There are benches in the out¬ 
er rooms where are seated those who 
have lost all their money and have ap¬ 
plied for their tickets home. After hav¬ 
ing once accepted such help, they can 
never play here again, until the money 
is paid back to the bank. The next 
time they apply for a ticket for “The 
Rooms,” they are looked up, and if 
there is anything on their record 
against them they will be refused ad¬ 
mittance. Again if you are a quarrel¬ 
some person, or claim money that does 
not belong to you, that is put down in 
their private books, too. At the begin¬ 
ning of the season this year, in Novem¬ 
ber, the place was full of quarrelsome 
women, who claimed money which was 
not theirs, making scenes at the tables, 
and causing great annoyance to the bet¬ 
ter class of people. It is amazing how 
quietly they are gotten rid of. Nothing 
is done hurriedly, or publicly, but sud¬ 
denly those people are seen no more, 
and the rooms well rid of them. I was 
so annoyed one day by one of these 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


37 


women when we first came. She and 
her family lived in onr hotel, and all of 
them played at “The Rooms.” One 
day she followed me to a roulette table 
taking a seat very near me. I was quite 
unaware of her nearness, when just as 
I had taken my money which I had al¬ 
lowed to run three times, I heard this 
voice saying, “c’est a moi, c’est a moi” 
that is the way they do. I didn’t even 
look up as others were taking their 
money off, too, and I did not even real¬ 
ize she was trying for my money. She 
insisted (as is their method) that the 
money was hers, hut it did no good. In 
a short time she left that table, much 
to everyone’s good, as no one wants 
that sort of person about, and soon aft¬ 
erwards she was seen no more in Monte 
Carlo. No one knew how or when she 
went, she simply disappeared. It really 
is wonderfully carried on, this Casino 
here, considering the temptations of 
play, and the professionals who live by 
the tables. We saw a man here today 
who was at Aix-les-Bains last summer. 
Then, we thought him a rich American. 


38 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


He had a New York chorus girl with 
him, but when he appeared here yester¬ 
day people said he was a professional 
gambler who lived not only by the ta¬ 
bles, but by betting on the races, etc. 
Anyway, whoever he is, he won phe¬ 
nomenally yesterday, and again today. 
There was a great crowd about the ta¬ 
ble where he was playing. Four times 
the bank had to send out for money, he 
won so heavily. He played maximums 
on the even chances, and covered cer¬ 
tain plays on the table with five hun¬ 
dred franc and a thousand franc notes, 
so that when he did win, he made a 
large sum at once. Then many small 
players began to follow his play, since 
he was so lucky, but with five franc 
pieces, the smallest amount permitted. 
It looked so funny to see those little 
bits of money beside such a player. 
Most people play to amuse themselves, 
as they are here for the season, with al¬ 
most no other amusement. Just now 
the warm weather has begun, and to¬ 
day, at eleven, one saw all the Monte 
Carlo world on the front. True Monte 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


39 


Carlo weather at last, the Riviera of old 
times. Really one has missed the bril¬ 
liant sunshine one always looks for 
here, for the winter has been cold and 
cloudy until now. Everyone is gay and 
seems quite determined to forget there 
ever was a war. 

I will write more in a few days, or 
perhaps tomorrow, one never knows 
when the inspiration will come, or the 
attraction of “The Rooms’’ permit of 
letter writing. Best love to all, dear¬ 
est of friends, and don’t forget the ab¬ 
sent ones. 

Yours very fondly, 


Ysobel. 


40 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

Walking down to the rooms today I 
saw Melba. A young man behind was 
trying to catch up with her. He called, 
“Aunt Nellie, Aunt Nellie,” so it must 
have been a nephew. She has one, I 
know, who is a famous tennis player 
here. The papers say that she is staying 
at the Hermitage, and news-papers 
never lie. She is engaged to sing in La 
Boheme which will be given soon after 
the opera season opens. We are now 
looking forward to much music and 
gaiety. Last evening at the Sporting 
Club there were dozens of lovely wom¬ 
en in gorgeous clothes and covered 
with jewels. In these days one is glad 
to see them covered with something, as 
it is quite impossible to play roulette 
and cover your nakedness with jewels, 
especially if you lean over the table to 
place your “mise ,” for ropes of pearls, 
and strings of emeralds do slip about 
so, revealing much that should be hid- 



ON THE FRONT 

Where we walk, mornings between eleven and twelve o’clock 














LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 41 

den. I really wish they would enlarge 
the Sporting Club, for it is such a tiny 
little place with all those bursting dow¬ 
agers crowded together. I rarely play 
at the Sporting Club, there are such a 
lot of un-attached old women monopol¬ 
izing the tables, with their little five 
franc pieces. They squabble so over 
whose piece it is or which has won, that 
there is not much pleasure in playing 
there. I hear that the management are 
anxious to get rid of a lot of them, so 
that more desirable people may come 
in. I take tea there occasionally, but 
the very much be-flunked waiters are 
so haughtily unconscious of one’s or¬ 
ders, leaning lazily against the walls, 
elegantly flicking imaginary specks off 
their clothes, or yawning at them¬ 
selves in the mirrors, that “we poor 
millionaires,” as I heard one woman 
say, “cannot expect to be served tea by 
such elegant persons.” I was a full half 
hour this afternoon trying to get their 
attention away from that mirror, fi¬ 
nally leaving the club, to take my tea 
in a newly opened tea shop in the Boul- 


42 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


evard des Moulins, where the tea and 
coffee are the best to be found in 
France, and the service so simply and 
politely given. It is refreshing, too, to 
find that all one’s friends have found 
the same refuge. It is strange that 
servants cannot understand that if 
they give poor service fewer people 
will come, and so there will be fewer 
tips for their pockets. The Sporting 
Club really wants only well bred men 
and women, cocottes, and smart society 
people there. They will soon have 
their wish, as the high season is com¬ 
mencing, and the fashionable world is 
already well represented. I saw Lady 
Muir-Mackenzie, widow of the late Sir 
J. W. P. Muir-Mackenzie, walking in 
the sunshine on the terrace this morn¬ 
ing. Lady de Bathe (Lily Langtry) 
was out also, and the Duchess of Aosta. 
I saw by the paper that the Shah of 
Persia has arrived with his suite. The 
Agah Kahn has already been here for 
some time. There are more English 
here at present than in England, I am 
sure, for in the list of hotel arrivals one 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


43 


sees almost no other names—hundreds 
and hundreds of them, a real invasion. 
They bring a fashion all their own, 
with long, voluminous skirts, to the 
ankle, low, flat shoes, and huge shade 
hats high off their foreheads. Such 
a sharp contrast to the short skirts and 
the small round hats, well down over 
the eyes, worn by the rest of the world. 
But then what matters “the rest of the 
world” when the majority rule, and 
England not only “rules the waves” 
but Monte Carlo just at present. Are 
you still interested in system? Since 
I promised to send you all I found I 
will include two in my letter which I 
found in the paper this week. I can¬ 
not vouch for these, as I have not tried 
them. My own suits me very well 
since I have made a good bit this week. 
Don’t think that I have broken the 
bank, not at all, yet to win, and not to 
lose , is something, when one sees so 
many people apply for tickets home, 
having lost their last sou here. There 
was a story in the “Monte Carlo and 
Mentone News” this week of two men 


44 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


who had lost all their money except 
five francs between them. It seems 
that they met at the post office, and 
comparing notes found that this was 
the amount of their combined capital. 
They spoke of going to drown their sor¬ 
rows in a drink together. I will quote 
the article. “ Shall we have a drink or 
shall we have a parting shot at the 
Bank for it?” queried one of the 
friends, and of course like true gam¬ 
blers they put it to the toss. Heads an¬ 
other shot; tails, a drink. Heads had 
it, and they twain returned to the 
Casino discussing the next preliminary 
question which was whose duty it 
should be to change their miscellane¬ 
ous assortment of small coin for one 
five franc piece. This delicate opera¬ 
tion haying been satisfactorily per¬ 
formed, the white counter, representing 
a five franc piece, was placed upon a 
transversal which won. From this 
on the friends won every day for four 
months, living in a good hotel during 
the whole time enjoying themselves 
immensely, regardless of cost, because 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


45 


they were doing it at the Bank’s ex¬ 
pense. They were playing a system, 
and their experience shows how enor¬ 
mous in duration and intensity are 
some of these systems. 

This is the system given. (I am still 
quoting) 

The Repeater: The Repeater is a 
number occurring twice or more con¬ 
secutively: 

12 

29 

29 

14 

32 

18 

17 

17 

17 

4 

12 

In this list for example are two repeat¬ 
ers: 29 and 17. And in the following 
list 


22 

16 


46 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


22 

19 

36 

1 

3 

17 

there are two semi-repeaters: 22-16— 
and 1-3. Now when you get a repeater, 
the game is to look out for that number 
to appear next time and then to back 
it “en pleine ,, on one number, together 
with the transversal to which it be¬ 
longs, for the next three or four coups. 
All this of course is for roulette. There 
are also many systems for trente- 
quarente, although it seems so uncer¬ 
tain a game, just the turn of a card. 
Just at present there is daily a crowd 
around one of the tables in the private 
rooms (at The Casino, of course, the 
Sporting Club doesn’t count) watching 
a man playing for a syndicate of three 
Englishmen of very high position. It 
seems they have made a pool between 
them, and one man plays for the three. 
He plays a system but all three are 


LETTERS PROM MONTE CARLO 


47 


looking pretty glum as the money 
seems to be growing rapidly less, in¬ 
stead of increasing. However, the 
crowd does not grow less, and it is al¬ 
most impossible to get even near 
enough to the table to watch the play. 
The man who won so much last week at 
roulette is now playing a smaller game, 
and is “out of luck” as they say. 
The winner just now is the woman we 
call “The Emerald Lady.” She has 
won steadily for the last two weeks. I 
have seen her put in her beautiful gold 
purse, set with emeralds, note after 
note of mille francs. She wears the most 
beautiful emerald rings and bracelets, 
never any other jewels, so now people 
say she believes them to be her lucky 
stones. We are full of superstition 
here. If a person comes up to the 
table and speaks to you while you 
are playing, you may as well stop 
for the day, for “it spoils your 
luck”; or, again, if you look up and see 
a friend bowing to you from across the 
table, leave the table at once and find 
another, as at that one you can win no 


48 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


more. Certain people we come to know 
as our hoodoos, and if we meet them on 
our way to the tables we say “no luck 
today.’’ The strange part of it all is 
that it seems to be true. Whether we 
invite our bad luck by expecting it, 
or not, is a question. I heard some one 
ask the other day “which shoe do you 
put on first in the morning.” It seems 
that it is better luck to put on the left 
one, and if a man comes to see another 
in his hotel bed room, and starts to put 
his hat on the bed, one cries, “0, 
don’t do that, it will bring me bad 
luck.” No one thinks of anything else 
here but winning or losing at the ta¬ 
bles. If you stub your toe, if you tear 
your dress, if you meet a woman 
hunchback, no luck that day. But if 
you meet a man hunchback, you must 
immediately wish, (for it is good luck, 
of course) and so on indefinitely. The 
real gambler here thinks nothing of 
fashion, has no time for it, in fact, she 
(mostly women) plays from early 
morning until luncheon time, when she 
rushes to her hotel, hurries through 



Central Walk down to the Casino Through the Garden 














































































































































































































































LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


49 


her luncheon, all the while holding 
tight onto her little bag, which you im¬ 
mediately suspect is full of money, 
rushes out again, her head far in ad¬ 
vance of her body, looking neither to 
right nor left, only intent upon getting 
back to “The Rooms.’’ There she 
plays until dinner time, when she rush¬ 
es home to dress for the evening, or 
more often taking a sandwich at the 
Casino, to be there all the sooner, and 
plays again until the closing hour, 
which is eleven o’clock for the public 
rooms, and long after midnight for the 
private ones. I heard an old English 
Countess say she did wish they would 
charge fifty pounds for the season, and 
keep out some of these awful persons. 
It certainly would give her more room 
for herself at the tables, but since she 
plays only a few francs each day, just 
to be in the fashion with all society, I 
imagine the management will not 
change their prices only to make the 
rooms more exclusive for the small 
player to amuse herself. One meets all 
sorts of people here, yet it is amazing 


50 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


how well managed the rooms are, as is 
all Monte Carlo. For instance, when 
a man leaves “The Rooms” with his 
pockets bulging with packages of mille 
franc notes which he has won, one 
thinks of what might happen to him in 
any other city of the world. It is not 
so here. There are no criminal classes 
and, one is as safe at midnight as in 
the daytime. You see, nearly all the 
people of Monte Carlo live by “The 
Rooms,” the fathers are croupiers, 
the sons also are taught to be in their 
generation, and the grandchildren in 
theirs. The wives and mothers are in 
the cloak rooms, and hundreds of em¬ 
ployees as police. At the outer en¬ 
trance, and at all the doors through 
which you pass, there are three police 
in the employ of the Casino. Before you 
reach “The Rooms,” you can count 
twenty-four, and inside there are six 
croupiers and two chefs at each table, 
besides three valet de pieds , to run and 
get more money should the table be 
broke. There are in the outer rooms 
alone eleven tables, and in the pri- 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


51 


vate rooms there are fifteen. Each 
table has not only its six croupiers, but 
these men are relieved every half hour 
by six more, all day and all night. So 
you may imagine how many employees 
there are here just for “The Rooms’’ 
alone. The Sporting Club is run by 
the Casino Company, and there are 
eight tables there, each with as many 
attendants. Besides all the visible em¬ 
ployees, there are many men tout of 
uniform who are inspectors. They are 
everywhere watching. Whatever hap¬ 
pens, everything is done so quietly 
that one never hears of it. If a person 
is found cheating, he is asked to come 
to the manager’s office and his ticket is 
taken away from him. Since this room 
is quite by itself no one can see or hear 
if he makes a scene. Then he is released 
by an underground passage, and usual¬ 
ly, sent away from the Principality, 
since, above all things, Monte Carlo is 
a fashionable winter resort and all the 
“haut Monde” comes here. It is a very 
gay and brilliant place. Quite unlike 
any other in the world, although one 


52 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


finds the same fashionable set at 
Aix-les-bains, and at Trouville, each 
in their season. There is a certain 
fashionable set one always meets at the 
right moment at the right place. 

There is in Rome a very old beau of 
the old school, over one hundred now. 
He has a valet who corsets him, dresses 
him, and fixes him up generally. Wher¬ 
ever it is the fashion to be there you 
will see him. At the opera lolling in 
his box, back to the stage (it is quite 
the thing to be indifferent to the per¬ 
formance) he never once looks at the 
stage, yet when others begin to ap¬ 
plaud he applauds indifferently also. 
Just at five o’clock he is at the Grand 
Hotel for tea, and at the proper hour 
in the afternoon, he is seen on the Cor- 
so with all the “haut monde ” driv¬ 
ing the most superb horses. When 
it is the season at Monte Carlo he is 
there. It is so amusing to meet him 
everywhere that fashion goes. The 
right time to be seen at the Riviera is in 
February and March. In April and 
May one must be seen at the Italian 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


53 


Lakes; in June, Venice, at the Lido for 
the bathing. In July and September 
at San Moritz for the moutain air; 
then to the season at Deauville in Au¬ 
gust, from there to Vichy or Aix-les- 
Bains for the “cure” in August or 
September. September also is the sea¬ 
son at Salza Majorie, and in October 
one goes to Paris for clothes. Novem¬ 
ber, Rome again; and December and 
J anuary are reserved for country 
house visits, hunting and shooting. I 
have not spoken of the Grand Prix in 
Paris in June. One naturally must be 
seen there, but to be seen in Paris after 
the Grand Prix is to be out of things 
generally. The dressmakers’ buyers 
who come to Paris in the spring to buy 
models, go to tea at the fashionable ho¬ 
tels to look at the styles and think they 
see the fashions. They see only other 
buyers, and tourists. No one can mis¬ 
take them. One look at their hand 
bags and shoes writes American all 
over them, to one who knows the real 
world of Europe. It is all so amusing, 
this world of ours, if one has the time 


54 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


to run about: the world is as amusing 
as one vast stage where mankind are 
the players. What a long letter I am 
writing. Will you ever forgive me for 
running on so ? At least I will have the 
grace to end now. Warmest love to all 
you dear Americans at home. 

Very fondly 


Ysobel. 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


55 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

If you have really forgiven me for 
my last long letter I will try to do bet¬ 
ter this time. Yesterday the Emerald 
Lady gave a tea for some distinguished 
English friends of hers at the Hotel de 
Paris, and we were there. Keally, one 
does meet such delightful people in 
Monte Carlo,—Ambassadors, Dukes, 
Counts and Countesses, Princes, even 
Kings who naturally come “incogni¬ 
to.” However, everyone knows who 
they are, and although it is announced 
in the papers that they are here incog, 
yet they never give up one bit of the 
ceremony due them. For instance, at 
the Hotel de Paris yesterday, there 
were innumerable tea parties. In one 

corner was the Grand Duchess A-, 

with her friends. In the other corner 

was the King of S-, with his suite, 

while we, other mortals, were just scat¬ 
tered about at tables in the middle of 



56 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


the grand salle. Finally, the Grand 

Duchess A-moved to go and speak 

to the King. When she arose her ladies 
stood, bowed to the ground, and re¬ 
mained standing. When the King of 

S- saw her coming he arose and 

went to meet her, just behind, in the 
open corridor, where they remained 
talking for fifteen minutes or more. 
All this while, those at their tea tables 
remained standing. As soon as the 
Grand Duchess A—— returned to her 
table her ladies courtesied again, and 
seated themselves. When the King of 
S-returned to his table his men re¬ 

mained standing, until he gave them 
the signal to be seated. He forgot to 
do so, for quite a few moments, as if it 
were a matter of indifference to him 
whether they stood or not. He was 
really enjoying the moment, I am sure, 
for presently he waved his hand and 
they sat. All this in a public hotel 
where any one may go to tea, if by the 
way, you tip the waiter to reserve you 
a table. Well, we had some delightful 
people also at our “ Emerald Lady’s” 





LETTERS PROM MONTE CARLO 


57 


tea party. She herself is well worth 
seeing. She has such beautiful jewels 
and lovely gowns. They tell me she 
writes the most extraordinary poems, 
and books on psychical subjects, which 
she has not yet published. We are all 
hoping she will, some day soon, for she 
is so talented. Now, about some of the 
people. One of her guests is another 
of the brilliant women here. To 
add to her interest, there is a tragedy in 
her life as well. After twenty-five years 
of married life with her very rich hus¬ 
band, he deserted her for another 
woman. All those years she had every¬ 
thing that wealth and position could 
give. Every wish gratified. Beautiful 
houses, jewels, her motors built to or¬ 
der, even her veils and handkerchiefs 
woven to order for her. Think what it 
means to such a woman to have to give 
it all up after twenty-five years of lux¬ 
ury and live, as she does here, in a tiny 
room in a hotel, with almost no income, 
all her jewels taken from her and every¬ 
thing she possessed, except the small 
amount of money she inherited from 


58 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


her father. She is a brilliant woman, 
and has taken up astrology very scien¬ 
tifically, haying become an expert, in 
that science. She is a brave little wom¬ 
an, very clever and witty, and has many 
admiring friends. She still hopes that 
her husband will “come to his senses,” 
as she expresses it, and return to her. 
I asked her what she intended to do 
when all her little capital was gone. She 
said very bravely, “I can always wash 
dishes in a hotel for three meals a day, 
if nothing more,” but I assured her 
that with her expert knowledge of as¬ 
trology, she would not be obliged to do 
that. It seems she took it up to fill her 
mind with other thoughts after her 
great sorrow. Every morning she 
walks up to the Prince’s palace where 
there is a sun dial, in order to get 
the sun’s time, from which to work 
out her system for the tables, for she, 
too, tries to find a system and thinks 
that the different planets affect the ta¬ 
bles at certain hours. During the 
moon’s hour the moon’s number will 
come up. In Venus’s hour, her num- 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


59 


bers appear and so on. She calculates 
it to a degree of a second. During Mars’s 
hour she looks for a run on red, and so 
it goes. Yesterday she told me that if I 
would go down to the Casino and play 
threes between 6.31 and 28 seconds 
until 7.53 and 44 seconds, I would find 
threes would predominate. By threes 
she means all numbers whose digits 
make three. For instance 12—21—3— 
30 because each of these numbers 
added make three. Thus 12=1 and 2 
added make three (21=2 and 1 added 
equals three, and three and 0 (30) 
equal three. She manages to make quite 
a little, I assure you, by her method. 
She keeps a chronometer watch in front 
of her at the tables and plays very ac¬ 
curately by it. One thing she will never 
do is to play on a Saturday. That is 
Saturn’s day and she will have nothing 
to do with Satan. “He has done me 
enough evil,” she says, “and I will have 
nothing more to do with him.” If one 
is fond of people, Monte Carlo is a most 
thrilling place in which to live. Some 
new excitement every day. Interest- 


60 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


ing news of “The Rooms”; of whom 
has arrived, and various details. Melba 
was in the private rooms for a short 
time yesterday. I saw her playing 
late in the afternoon when we went 
over after the tea party. She played 
very little, and only at one table, 
then left and went to look on, at 
another. Very clever of her to stop 
playing when she was losing. If every 
one had the nerve to do that! Most 
people who are seated and lose, hate to 
get up and leave, because then every¬ 
one knows they have lost. Old habitues 
of Monte Carlo tell you to play, stand¬ 
ing, since if you lose, you do not mind 
so much going away. I find it is true, 
but do not hesitate to leave a table 
when it is going against me. 

Of course it is much nicer playing in 
the private rooms, because there you 
do not rub up against the queer people 
one sees in the outer rooms. I don’t 
believe I have ever told you that some 
of the tables are named. The first one 
on the left as you enter is called the 
kitchen table. The one on the left the 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


61 


scullery table. The next one still on the 
right is the doctor’s table, and the next 
the suicide’s table. Most amusing isn’t 
it? There are naturally many tragedies 
here. There has been an Englishwoman 
here all winter, Mrs. Haywood, we will 
call her, for it wouldn’t be at all fair to 
give her right name. She got to be as 
well known as the croupiers them¬ 
selves. When one went into the rooms 
one always saw her running about from 
table to table, always making the same 
play on each table, usually playing two 
or three tables at once. She put plaques 
(100 franc pieces) on the last three 
transversales, in the dozens, and upon 
the first three also. These were her fav¬ 
orite plays. (Such a mistake to have 
favorite plays.) At first she won heavi¬ 
ly, everybody does at first. The prover¬ 
bial beginner’s luck. Then she began to 
lose as all do, until they learn the 
game. After she began to lose she 
lost and lost, until she went about bor¬ 
rowing money of everybody. At last 
she became one of the sensations of the 
place. Finally she lost so much money 


62 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


that no one would lend her any more, 
and she had to sit about and wait for 
funds to come from England. The daily 
talk was, 4 ‘Has Mrs. Haywood received 
her checque from England yet?” 
“Is she playing?” and so forth. When 
her money arrived she would pay all 
her debts and then sit about again, 
waiting for more to come. They say 
she is a very rich woman, but she 
loses her money as soon as she gets 
it. Just at present she is “sitting 
about” again, waiting. Another woman 
we call the “Cry-baby-lady.” She plays 
five franc pieces all over the table, but 
most unfortunately she never remem¬ 
bers where she played them. When a 
number (she thinks she has a piece on) 
comes up she says, “Oh, I’ve won, I’ve 
won,” “that’s mine, that’s mine,” “I 
have it ‘en plein’.” No one pays any 
attention to her until the croupier pays 
the person to whom it really belongs, 
when she begins to weep real tears. She 
protests, talks and weeps, holding up 
the table, while she weeps, and wran¬ 
gles for five or ten minutes. Sometimes 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


63 


for days she does not play at all, just 
wandering about “The Booms” with 
her tearful white face, looking more 
like a ghost than a human being. I am 
sure her spirit will haunt “The Booms” 
after her death. As a ghost, she will 
surely go wandering up and down, 
weeping and wailing over her lost 
money—poor thing. They say she is 
really rather a nice sort of person, and 
means well, but all the croupiers know 
her and remember her plays for her. I 
saw her today playing again, and there 
was the usual wrangling and weep¬ 
ing. A man who sat beside her said, 
“For heaven’s sake stop this squab¬ 
bling.” “Squabbling,” wept she, 
“How would you feel if it were your 
money and some one else claimed it.” 
She never really quarrels, just has a 
pathetic face and is so grieved over it 
all. Sometimes we see a crowd so great 
about a table that no one can get near 
it. Then we know that there is a big 
play going on there. Today a young 
man won 450,000 francs. Such luck! 
Someone suggested that he had a gift 


64 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


of second sight, as he would sit for sev¬ 
eral plays without playing, his elbows 
on the tables, his head in his hands. 
Suddenly he would throw the maxi¬ 
mum on noir et impair (black and un¬ 
even number) winning every time. He 
won until his pockets were bulging 
with packages of mille franc notes. It 
was positively uncanny, his luck. 
When you consider that it is a perfect¬ 
ly honest game here, and that at trente- 
quarante it is either red or black that 
wins just by the turn of the cards, 
added up to thirty or forty, you would 
think everyone might win. Not at all, 
many lose. The usual thing to do, is to 
follow the table, but some play the col¬ 
or before the last, and often the table 
changes every time, “ jumping the ta¬ 
bles” we call it, first red then black, for 
several times, then again there is a 
long run on red, or a run on black. 
Now that the Sporting Club is open one 
can play CJiemin-de(-fer there. It is 
rather fun, although a slow game. The 
Chemin-de-fer is a little railroad train, 
holding six or eight packs of cards. It 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


65 


runs around the table, each person tak¬ 
ing his turn to deal out the cards. The 
person playing is called the banker, 
and puts up a sum of money to be 
played for in front of him. The person 
next to him in turn, may say ‘ 4 Banco,’’ 
and place the same amount in front of 
himself. Then the cards are dealt, each 
of these two receiving two cards each. 
Seven, eight, or nine wins. When the 
stake is too large for any one person to 
take it, the croupier says “Monsieurs, 
fates vous jeux then, any one may 
put in to the amount of the bank. 
Either the dealer wins, or the whole 
table against him, when the money is 
divided equally to those having put 
money in the pool. 

This evening we are to have the 
opening of the season of Grand Opera, 
with Faust, Marcoux, Muratori, and 
Miss Mason (now Mme. Polacca, I be¬ 
lieve). So now I must dress and be 
off. I will write you all about the opera 
and the ball which is to follow in my 
next letter. Best of greetings to your 
own dear self, and don’t forget us. I 


66 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


don’t mean to give you a chance, do I, 
with my long letters? Yet, if they bore 
you, have you not brought it on your¬ 
self, by asking me to write you all 
about Monte Carlo, and you know how 
I love to write. 

Very fondly, 


Ysobel. 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


67 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

It is really so good of you to say my 
letters do not bore you. You always 
were a dear. Well, I will go on and on, 
only do stop me when you feel the least 
bored, won’t you? Last evening we 
went to the opening of the Opera sea¬ 
son. The tickets, which are usually five 
francs each, were for the opening night 
a hundred francs, but this was to in¬ 
clude a ball in the atrium after the 
performance. It certainly was a thrill¬ 
ing evening. When the three imposing 
raps came which announce the rise of 
the curtain, everyone stood and the Na¬ 
tional Hymn was played by the Monte 
Carlo orchestra. All turned to the 
Prince’s loge, (box) while the hymn 
Monogasque was being played, and 
then we remained standing during the 
Marseillaise. How it did thrill one in 
that tiny opera house, which is one of 
the most beautiful ones in the world, 


(58 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


having been built and decorated by 
Garnier, the architect who built the 
Paris opera house. We had a splen¬ 
did performance. Marcoux and Mura- 
tore quite outdid themselves. After 
the Opera there was a ball in the at¬ 
rium, and at two o’clock in the morn¬ 
ing the lottery was drawn. Alas, 
although we had thirty tickets between 
us, we drew nothing, not even the china 
rooster, which represents the “Cock 
Galoise” of France. I had had hopes 
of that rooster!!!! We really felt we 
should have some compensation for 
our patience under the constant impor¬ 
tuning of the employees of the Casino 
for weeks in advance whenever we en¬ 
tered a door. Now, at least, we shall 
have a rest from that, until the next 
lottery. This one was the second with¬ 
in a month. I can’t help thinking 
what a tolerant country France is. 
The people themselves are like chil¬ 
dren, enjoying life to the full. In 
fact Italy has its lottery, too, and all 
the fashionable watering places have 
their Casino, and races. Sometimes 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


69 


my Puritan ancestry arise in my con¬ 
science and upbraids me, and I often 
think how shocked they would be at 
the very thought of a game of chance. 
Yet what is life itself, but chance. I 
see no difference between a business 
chance on a buy of cotton, or on buying 
stocks on a chance of a rise. Is it not 
also a lottery? We had a thrilling ex¬ 
perience in “The Rooms’ * yesterday. 
After haying won three u en pleins ,” a 
friend put his hand in his pocket to 
show me how much he had won, when 
he found, to his astonishment, that it 
was all gone. Someone had picked his 
pocket. This sort of thing has been 
going on for some time at the Casino, 
but they have been unable, as yet, to 
find the offenders, although there are 
no end of detectives about. It seems 
that there were two girls who pushed 
a good deal, one on either side of my 
friend. As he placed a louis “en 
plein ” the girl on his right repeated 
after him “en plein” to which my 
friend replied, “Oh, no, Madame, c'est 
a moi .” “I know it,” replied she in 


70 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


English. “I was only repeating yonr 
French.” When he won, the woman 
on the other side of him exclaimed, 
“Say, you know how to pick ’em, don’t 
you'?” and when he had won three times 
in succession, they made other re¬ 
marks, equally pertinent. Of course we 
wouldn’t like to say it was either of 
these women who picked his pocket, 
yet they pushed a good deal, and one 
must look out for people who push. I 
remember I promised to tell you all the 
news. 

There is always something of inter¬ 
est being talked about in “The 
Rooms.” Yesterday we were speak¬ 
ing of a young Russian couple here. 
Quite young, perhaps twenty-eight 
or thirty; and when they first ar¬ 
rived, refugees as we supposed, they 
had with them stacks of luggage. 
One evening in passing, we saw into 
their rooms in our hotel as the maid 
was turning down their beds, and 
had left the door open. They had 
such wonderful rugs on the floor, a 
white bear skin, and a black bear skin, 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


71 


and the bed had a beautiful em¬ 
broidered blue silk covering, such as 
one sees in the near east. At that time, 
they occupied two of the largest front 
rooms in our hotel, but now they have 
moved into one tiny back room, where 
there is never any sun. It is by no 
means an unusual story here. They do 
look so forlorn, this poor little couple. 
They wander about the rooms, smok¬ 
ing cigarettes watching other people 
play, but no longer playing even the 
five franc pieces, the despised white 
piece, which so annoys the player of 
a “louis” (20 francs). The Casino has 
now given certain tables over to those 
who wish to play louis and plaques 
(100 franc pieces). You see one wins 
ever so much more playing high stakes, 
and one loses quicker, also, as I have 
found to my cost. Mrs. Haywood (the 
woman I wrote you about who lost so 
much having a “favorite play”) has 
quite disappeared. It seems that she 
was so annoyed by the pitying looks 
and the talk of her losses, that she stole 
away quietly to Cannes where she is 


72 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


installed in a tiny hotel. The “ Cry- 
baby-lady” has also decided to take 
leave of Monte Carlo. Let us hope 
it will be for her good. “Poor dear,” 
people say. She has lived here four¬ 
teen years and leaving says she never 
wants to see the place again. No 
wonder there are tragedies, when one 
thinks of the enormous amount of 
money the Casino makes each year. 
This season alone, up to the present 
time, from November to March first, 
the Casino has made 35,000,000 (mil¬ 
lion) francs. Of course that huge sum 
represents the amount that players 
have lost here, so far, this season. What 
it will amount to at the end of the sea¬ 
son, you may well imagine. The Casino 
never closes its doors except for one 
day in the year, the Prince’s birthday. 
All the rest of the year it is open from 
nine in the morning until all hours of 
the night. Certain rooms close at 11 
o’clock and others keep open until mid¬ 
night. The gambling rooms at the 
Sporting Club, which is run by the Ca¬ 
sino Company, keep open all night. 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


73 


One seldom hears about the real 
tragedies here as they are quickly cov¬ 
ered up. Last evening in coming out of 
the Sporting Club, we heard three re¬ 
volver shots in the garden. One woman 
called out, “What is it, what is it,” 
then asked her escort to go and see who 
it was, and what it was all about. 

“Not I,” said he, “I’ll jolly well keep 
out of that kind of thing.” Many peo¬ 
ple heard the shots and have spoken 
about it today, but not a word of news 
can ever be gathered about such af¬ 
fairs here. 

The sensation of the week has been 
a man from Nice, Mr. Barlow, we will 
call him, although that is not his right 
name, as you may imagine, who brought 
eight men to “The Booms” with him, 
daily, to play a system, with capital 
furnished by himself. They sat three at 
one table, three at another, and three at 
still another. One man, of each three, 
had stacks of mille franc notes in front 
of him and played the game, while the 
other man read from a book, telling him 
where to play, and what amount. Their 


74 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


game was to play bundles of mille 
franc notes, the maximum, on three of 
the simple chances at once, such as odd 
(or even), black (or white), and the 
upper half of the table or the lower, 
just as his system said. They won 
phenomenally, breaking the bank again 
and again, until at last the crowd of 
on-lookers began to follow their play, 
with small pieces. The croupiers looked 
anything but pleased, I can assure you, 
for they seemed unable to roll against 
them. Naturally the business of a crou¬ 
pier is to roll for the bank. Monte Carlo 
is a city of no taxes. The syndicate that 
owns and runs the Casino, the Sporting 
Club, and the Hotel de Paris, contracts 
to pay all the taxes of the town, so they 
say, paying millions a year for the priv¬ 
ilege. It seems an ideal place for the 
person of small income to live and cer¬ 
tainly it would be, could one keep out 
of “The Rooms,’’ but since it is there 
that one meets all one’s friends, all the 
celebrities who come here, millionaires, 
titles, and even royalties, one finds 
much diversion even if not playing. 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


75 


Alas and alas, it is very difficult to re¬ 
sist the temptation and the fascination 
of the game. As you stand looking on, 
you think, “zero is sure to come up this 
time,” you hesitate, slip your hand in 
your pocket, and out comes a bill which 
is on the table before you realize it. If 
you win, you think, “how easy it is,” 
and hurry to play again, and if you lose, 
you think, “I will play again and get 
it back,” so there you have the story 
of Monte Carlo in a nut shell, if it would 
go into so small a space. 

There is a young English lord here 
this week playing very high at the 
Sporting Club. He has with him a 
young wife and they both play. He 
lost seventy-five thousand francs at 
first, but I heard him say last evening 
after winning a lot, that he had made 
it all up. This afternoon, however, I 
saw him fairly glowering at the tables 
as he lost again. Eleanora, you really 
must tell me when I bore you or I shall 
go on forever, as I said once before. 
You know that since there is some¬ 
thing new coming up every day, one 


76 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


never knows when to stop, so blame 
yourself if I do not stop, either, until 
you say “when.” Best love and greet¬ 
ings to you, one and all, and be sure 
you write me all the home news. I 
haven’t heard a word from Margherite 
yet. Is she on the way over? 

Again with love and a warm em¬ 
brace, 

Yours sincerely, 

Ysobel. 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


77 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

I really think I deserve a medal, for 
letting you off with so short a letter 
last time. However, you are going to 
catch it this time for I have so much to 
tell you that I neither know where to 
begin or when to end. What do you sup¬ 
pose? Yesterday afternoon they ar¬ 
rested several pickpockets in “The 
Rooms,” so we were told, although no 
one saw or heard anything of the affair. 
How quietly things are done here, are 
they not? Now that this fear is off of 
our minds, we can play in peace once 
more, without holding on to our pockets 
for dear life. Everybody is talking to¬ 
day about the pistol shot heard in the 
garden only a few nights ago, yet not 
one bit of information has leaked out. 
There are really some very weird 
stories told of how they hustle suicides 
out of sight here, yet it doesn’t seem 
quite fair to tell. After all, one plays 
here of one’s own free will, so if the 


78 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


result is disastrous, who is to blame? 
One pays for all one’s pleasures, even 
an automobile is most uncertain in ex¬ 
pense, and so here we just put our 
losses down to our expense account and 
let it go at that, those of us who are not 
quite broke. 

I was calling upon an attractive wom¬ 
an today who has been a resident here 
for twenty years. She told me many 
amusing stories of the game and people 
who have played here. She had a dear 
friend who took an apartment in the 
same house with her. This woman 
never played, but in the end the stories 
of fabulous winnings enticed her, and 
she began to play. She went to “The 
Rooms” with only one louis and made 
forty thousand francs. After that, noth¬ 
ing could stop her, it all seemed so easy, 
until one day she found herself ruined. 
Not even a franc to pay her rent or to 
buy food. My friend fed her and kept 
her until she could get money out from 
England when she began to play again, 
poor thing, and sometimes won, some¬ 
times lost, until that was all gone, too. 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


79 


At last she died in my friend’s arms, 
and they say her spirit haunts “The 
Rooms” to this day, where she wanders 
from table to table looking on. One can 
easily believe it. I, myself, have made 
resolution after resolution never to 
play another franc, yet when I go to 
“The Rooms” to look up a friend whom 
I wish to invite to tea, I stop at a table 
to see what is going on and before I 
know it I am playing as feverishly as 
ever. I am even with the game, after 
alternate losses and gains, so this is the 
time to stop, yet I have already lost 
2500 francs this week, and am now be¬ 
hind again. I have a friend here who is 
deeply interested in psychical matters. 
We have long talks together. It is al¬ 
ways such a mystery to me that I, with 
my strong will, cannot go into “The 
Rooms” and resist the temptation to 
play. She says it is because “The 
Rooms” are full of evil spirits who 
tempt one. I am most inclined to be¬ 
lieve her for yesterday as I entered 
“The Rooms” I felt a sensation of hav¬ 
ing entered Hades. The dull light, the 


80 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


smoke of hundreds of cigars and ciga¬ 
rettes making a clouded atmosphere, 
the uneasy feeling as the people moved 
in and out, or eagerly reached to grab 
their winnings (grab is the only word 
which expresses it) all tended to con¬ 
firm the feeling that it was no heavenly 
spot I had entered. How thankful we 
should be that no such places are al¬ 
lowed in our beloved country. I am so 
uneasy this week, for we have been all 
packed up since last Sunday waiting 
to go back to Paris. We went to 
our train, had all our luggage regis¬ 
tered, sat there on the platform wait¬ 
ing when it was announced that the 
train would be an hour and a half 
late, on account of the strike. We wait¬ 
ed with what patience we could, sitting 
on the edge of the track with our feet 
on the rails (for the crowds made it im¬ 
possible to find a seat on the benches) 
when another notice was posted that 
the train would be two more hours and 
a half late, and that it was packed al¬ 
ready, but we would be made as com¬ 
fortable as possible in the corridors, 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


81 


for a twenty-four hours’ ride without 
sleepers or a dining car. We looked at 
each other in dismay, then reclaiming 
our luggage returned to our hotel to 
wait for the strike to be over. Here we 
are, “sitting in our trunks,” as the say¬ 
ing is, for I will not unpack and re¬ 
pack. It is too much for the strikers to 
ask of anyone. 

I am so glad that this wave of spirit¬ 
ualism is sweeping over the world, it 
will bring a long needed awakening of 
religion. If only some great teacher 
would come, or if some patriotic soul 
would write or make speeches to arouse 
the workers to love of country, and 
fear of God. If even the newspapers 
would dare to talk to the people, but 
no, they will do nothing to lessen the 
sale of their particular newspaper and 
politicians will not speak to the work¬ 
ers for fear of losing votes. Truly the 
world has grown very selfish, and un¬ 
spiritual. 

It seems to me to be time for the sec¬ 
ond coming of Christ, yet what wel¬ 
come would he receive, this time, from 


82 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


a world who once crowned Him with 
thorns and Voltaire with roses. Every¬ 
body here has been reading and talking 
about the automatic writings of the 
Rev. Vale Owen. “Do you believe that 
heaven is as his mother describes it?” 
is the question. One must believe, there 
is no other way, yet at the same time 
one must remember, that as our indi¬ 
vidual lives are different here, so will 
they be there, and these writings are 
the experience of the writer on the 
other side of the veil, and may not be 
our experience in the unseen world, 
when we arrive there. I have really 
written quite a sermon, haven’t I? 
Well, it does relieve one’s feelings, even 
if it is tiresome to you to read it. 

I cannot see the justice of our sol¬ 
diers fighting to save the world when 
the working people fight to destroy it. 
We are all up in arms here over the 
losses to the country in general, on ac¬ 
count of the stopping of transportation. 
The poor flower sellers all along the 
Riviera have met with heavy losses, the 
pastry shops have had to stop business 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


83 


for days at a time, the hotels have suf¬ 
fered and the Riviera generally has 
suffered great losses on account of 
there being insufficient train service. 
For days now we have had no trains at 
all, either for food or passengers. 
Surely if the workers refuse to trans¬ 
port food, they must feel the suffering 
as well as others, and whom can they 
blame but themselves? We are all 
quite indignant about it, I assure you, 
the non-striking workers no less than 
the consumers, and the shopkeepers. 
Every kind of business has been hurt by 
them. Food is perishing on the docks, 
and cannot be brought to market; 
children are going hungry, theirs 
as well as ours, but the sick suffer 
most of all, both for food and 
heat, as since the workers refuse to 
produce the coal all must suffer. They 
have no sense of their responsibility. 
The only end that I can see is for the 
different countries to enlist labor, as 
soldiers, who must obey orders and who 
will be held under military disciplne. 
No one feels very kindly toward the 


84 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


strikers, not even their own comrades, 
who have had to live all these days of 
the strike, on two francs a day, and two 
francs will not go far toward feeding 
a family since strikes have been the 
cause of increased cost of production, 
which (they cannot and will not under¬ 
stand) increases the cost of food, and all 
things which require labor. I went to 
great pains to explain to one of my ser¬ 
vants how if a farmer had to pay so 
much more for help to raise his pro¬ 
duce, and so much more for transport¬ 
ing it to market, that he must ask 
enough to cover expenses, and that was 
why everything was dearer now. She 
listened,—then with her rich accent an¬ 
swered, “Veil, all the same, I’m a be- 
laver in high wages.” What can be 
done with such an ignorant brain 
which cannot understand. I am 
afraid I have diverged from what I had 
intended to tell you, but with this strike 
uppermost in every one’s mind, and the 
discomforts of no trains, losing our 
boat to America, and losing at the ta¬ 
bles as well (as you no doubt suspect 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


85 


from this doleful letter) one’s mind will 
wander. We are thinking of sending 
our trunks up to Paris by slow train, 
which means we must buy three tickets 
to get them through, then taking a mo¬ 
tor at the expense of six or eight thou¬ 
sand francs, and motoring up. It will 
cost us as much as to buy a splendid car 
in America. I am sure you can read 
through the lines of my letter, and rea¬ 
lize that my brain is strike-weary, and 
I am sure you will forgive me, and be 
glad if I say goodbye for this time. I 
will try to do better when I write again. 

Very lovingly, 


Ysobel. 


86 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

I have had the most thrilling exper¬ 
ience since writing last. We are still 
at Monte Carlo with no more hope of 
an end to the strike than last week. 
Since we are all packed up and cannot 
leave, we have decided to unpack and 
remain until the season is over. Needs 
must. Of course you know how deeply 
interested everybody has become in 
psychical matters. For some time I 
have been investigating, with more or 
less success. Every evening when I sit 
alone with my hands on my table I get 
raps and tilts and all sorts of phenom¬ 
ena. Sometimes I have a feeling as if 
someone was in the room with me, and 
then I can see floating forms, and some¬ 
times I can distinguish faces. I have 
long felt as if the Casino was full of 
unseen forces, urging players on, and 
yesterday as I entered the rooms I had 
a strange experience. I seemed to see 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


87 


the room filled with strange forms, with 
faces which expressed every human 
emotion, avarice, cunning, revenge, 
despair, and from despair to ruin and 
death. The creatures (I can call them 
nothing else) wove in and out of the 
mass of humanity gathered there, whis¬ 
pering into eager ears, tempting them 
to listen to their evil suggestions; I 
saw skeleton hands stretched out to 
draw in the money, I saw hideous faces 
of apes and devils, all mingling with 
the crowds of players. I almost 
shrieked out in my horror, when sud¬ 
denly lights flashed, jewels shone, and 
I realized they had disappeared from 
my sight, although I cannot believe I 
did not see them there. I was quite 
awake, I assure you. Now I do not feel 
that I shall ever want to play again 
after the things I saw in that one fear¬ 
ful vision. Little shivers ran down my 
back at the thought of ever going to 
“The Rooms’ * again, yet I presume, 
when it has become a thing of the 
past, I shall be there, as one must go to 
the concerts sometimes for mental rest, 


88 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


and in order to get to the Ganne con¬ 
certs one must pass through “The 
Rooms.’’ One enters the opera, how¬ 
ever, from the atrium, but there are 
long waits in between each act when 
everyone goes to “The Rooms” during 
intermission. See how cleverly things 
were arranged to tempt one to play. 
There is absolutely nothing else to do 
here. To be sure, there is a tennis 
ground, but very few comparatively 
who come here, play tennis. Then 
there is a very poor golf course, with a 
club house, but the food is not tempt¬ 
ing enough to keep the players there 
for lunch, they do not mean it shall 
be. Monte Carlo is as crowded now as 
before the war, but as I told you in one 
of my letters, one misses old faces. In 
the old days, “before the war” one saw 

crowned heads, the King of S-, the 

Grand Duchess A- of Russia, The 

Princes of Germany, Dukes and Duch¬ 
esses of England and Grand Dukes of 
Russia, to say nothing of potentates of 
India, as well as the most beautiful co- 
cottes in Paris, all playing in the same 



LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


89 


rooms, often at the same tables, until 
the small hours of the morning. Beau¬ 
tiful Cleo de Merode and Otero, too, 
were always to be seen here in the high 
season just before Easter, for no one 
stays a moment after the day when 
“Christ the Lord is risen.’’ How fear¬ 
fully it all sounds and how sad it all 
is to celebrate His rising in a gambling 
house. If the Casino were not here, no 
one would choose to spend over a day in 
this tiny town, where there is posi¬ 
tively nothing else to do. No art gal¬ 
leries, no theatres, except at the Casino, 
no libraries, no opera except to en¬ 
tertain those who come to gamble, for 
although the opera house is in the Cas¬ 
ino building, it only seats a few hun¬ 
dred. 

One still sees some of the celebrated 
beauties here, but alas, how changed. 
I will not mention names, yet when I 
stood last evening looking at one who 
has married two titles, and had been a 
celebrated beauty in her youth, I 
thought, “How can she bear to look at 
herself in the glass and see what she 


90 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


has become.’’ Cheeks hollowed and 
painted, eyes sunken and blacked, 
cheeks rouged, poor thing, in one last 
attempt to look her old self. I assure 
you I would never have dreamed whom 
it was, had she not been pointed out to 
me. I imagine gambling is her only 
consolation in her disfigured old age. 

There is a very celebrated Spanish 
beauty here with her two lovely 
daughters, one of whom is married to 
an English peer. They are exquisitely 
beautiful girls, and it certainly does 
give one a shock to see them each tak¬ 
ing the bank at one of the CJiemin de 
fer tables at the Sporting Club, and 
playing mille franc notes. When they 
lose they go to where “Mother” is play¬ 
ing and help themselves to her pile of 
notes. “Mother” has been losing heav¬ 
ily, of late, and looking very angry. 
Only today I saw her go to the desk of 
the sporting club and sign an I. O. U. 
for a bundle of milles which she bor¬ 
rowed, and rush back to her table and 
go on playing feverishly as ever. She 
is at all the fashionable resorts when 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


91 


it is the fashion to be there, and all such 
resorts in Europe have their gambling 
houses. She was at Aix les Bains last 
summer at the height of the season, 
playing baccarat, every evening until 
the small hours of the morning. Did 
I write you at the time of the experi¬ 
ence we had there while we were taking 
the cure for rheumatism? 

Every morning in going in the hotel 
’bus down to the baths, I met a Russian 
woman, Madame X. we will call her. 
She was very friendly and always 
asked me if I were taking the cure. 
She was very fat. She said she ate 
only three small fishes each day, and 
took all her meals in her rooms. She 
appeared to be there alone, and, at first, 
one never saw her in the Casino. One 
day she asked me if I played. I told her 
that I played only a little. She said she 
had lost so much that now she played 
no more. She told me she had escaped 
from Russia with the Grand Duke M— 
who had helped a great many people to 
get away to France. “I saw my hus¬ 
band shot before my eyes,” she said, 


92 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


4 4 and I had all my money and 
jewels stolen from me,” she said. She 
also told me that naturally, like all 
Russians, her husband had moneys in 
France so she came there to get them. 
“But,” she said, “Now I am poor! I 
have nothing! nothing!! It was not 
very long after this that I saw her at 
the Casino playing feverishly with piles 
of mille franc notes in front of her, and 
always with a box of chocolates which 
she ate unrestrainedly. One evening 
later on, I saw her dining with a 
Russian nobleman, of whom there 
were many there, and she surely 
ate a very hearty dinner, and drank 
champagne with no care of her figure. 
This, to say the least, looked queer for 
one who so loudly declared that she 
was ruined, and ate nothing, as she 
came there to reduce. Well, one eve¬ 
ning she brought to the opera with her 
a most beautiful girl, whose face seem¬ 
ed strangely familiar, yet whom we 
could not place. We had never seen 
her there before, nor had Madame X. 
any one with her in the hotel to our 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


93 


knowledge. Some time after this my 
husband told me that he had seen that 
same girl again going out for a walk 
late one afternoon when everybody 
else was at the Casino. She had a little 
dog with her, and went up back of 
the hotel into the hills. I told him if he 
ever saw her again to tell me. One eve¬ 
ning, when we were returning from the 
Casino later than usual, and were step¬ 
ping into the elevator, I found that the 
only seat was occupied by a dog. I 
said (in English) to my husband, 
i ‘What a nuisance all these dogs are in 
a hotel, one would think the bedrooms 
would be full of flees .’’ My husband 
began to nudge me, and I looked up to 
see a young Russian girl smiling, in a 
very amused way. Now Russians un¬ 
less of the very highest court circles do 
not as a rule speak English, they all 
(when of the educated middle classes) 
speak French and German, but seldom 
English. My husband continued nudg¬ 
ing me in such a persistent way that I 
realized it meant something, so I 
glanced again at the girl, and “Mon 


94 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


Dieu” I nearly exclaimed. I am sure 
who it was, for we had been in Russia 
the year before the war, where although 
we did not see the royal family we saw 
portraits daily in all the shop windows, 
and bought them all, to take away with 
us. I know their faces as well as I do 
my own, and I could swear to her iden¬ 
tity. I am so glad that even one of the 
family escaped, poor dear innocent 
girls, to be so foully murdered. No 
wonder the Russian who was shelter¬ 
ing her pretended to be taking the cure. 
I asked her, one evening at the Casino, 
when we stood talking together if she 
thought any of the Royal Family had 
escaped. Her confusion was pathetic. 
She turned this way and that, and only 
replied, “I hope so.” 

I must tell you of another exciting 
thing that happened there, at Aix. Ev¬ 
ery evening baccarat was played, com¬ 
mencing at midnight, and continuing 
until morning. There was one man who 
took the bank every night and no one 
played until he was ready. He was 
half Indian, and half English, they 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


95 


said, and was immensely wealthy. He 
had the most refined, wellbred wife— 
so delicate and small. She never 
played, and rarely came into the rooms, 
preferring to sit in the gardens listen¬ 
ing to the music, or in the cafe, watch¬ 
ing the dancing. Her husband, how¬ 
ever, was a great gambler, playing with 
a lavishness that always attracted a 
crowd about the table to watch him. 
He had been playing very heavily night 
after night, and we began to hear that 
his losses were getting to be enormous. 
One evening when we returned to our 
hotel, earlier than usual, about twelve- 
thirty, his wife went up to the hotel in 
the ’bus with us, but her husband re¬ 
mained behind to take the bank again 
at baccarat. She appeared perfectly 
well then, but the next morning we 
heard she had met with a serious acci¬ 
dent, in her rooms. We had been 
awakened when her husband returned 
the night before at three o’clock, as our 
rooms were over the entrance. No one 
knew exactly what happened, but we 
heard her husband telling people in the 


96 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


rooms who inquired for her that she 
had been found lying on the rug. He 
said she must have fallen. She would 
receive no one and was still in her 
rooms, when we left, some weeks later. 
Some weeks afterwards we saw her 
in Paris having tea alone in the garden 
of a fashionable hotel. 

I cannot think that gambling is con¬ 
ducive to happiness. It seems to let 
loose all the passions,—avarice, hatred, 
revenge, anger, despair. Could you see 
women quarrelling at the tables for a 
seat, the moment one is vacated!!! 
One will mark the place with a piece of 
money and say “c’est a moi , la place 
est mar quel” That makes no differ¬ 
ence to the other woman who wants the 
place, she puts her handbag down, 
slips into the seat, then begins a cal¬ 
ling of names. I heard a woman say to 
another who had taken her place, 
“You painted old woman, you had bet¬ 
ter go home and wash your face.” The 
painted one held the seat, however, 
nothing else mattered, and no kind of 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


97 


abuse or insult would make her give 
it up. 

After a while, one gets tired of the 
life here, and when one is well away 
from it, in healthier surroundings 
where there are other things to take 
up one’s mind, one begins to wonder 
how one could ever have been induced 
to stay as long as he did. Somehow 
there is a glamor over the place while 
one is here, and an excitement one ex¬ 
periences nowhere else on earth. 
Speaking of Otero reminds me of a 
good story told of her before the war. 
It seems that one evening Liane de 
Pougy and Otero were seated at a rou¬ 
lette table side by side. Liane put the 
maximum on number 18 and it came 
up. “ Why did you do that ?’ 9 exclaimed 
Otero. “Just an inspiration,” replied 
Liane, “It’s my birthday, and I played 
my age.” “What a good idea,” said 
Otero, “I think I’ll play mine.” “I 
wouldn’t,” murmured Liane, “the high¬ 
est numbers are not coming up this 
evening.” One does hear such de¬ 
lightful conversations in “The Rooms. 


98 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


Sometimes I jot them down in my note 
book just to amuse myself. 

The other evening two Englishmen 
were having a little conversation. One 
said to the other, “I say, old chap, 
how’re you getting on?” “Oh, I’m 
pulling up a bit, you know, and how are 
you getting on?” “Oh, I’ve been bet¬ 
ting a bit, don’t you know. I’ve just 
lost a bailey louis.” “Oh, I say, re-ah- 
ly! that’s hard luck, you know, so tare- 
some.” 

Last evening we decided to go to bed 
instead of to “The Rooms.” I was no 
sooner snugly tucked up with a book 
in my hands than a friend came in 
for a chat. She took the great chair 
beside my bed, and proceeded to take 
off: her hat. Just as she was about to 
to lay it on the bed we both screamed, 
“Don’t do that, it will bring us 
all bad luck.” Such is the hold 
Monte Carlo superstitions have taken 
upon us. Strange to say every one of 
us three lost to-day just because she 
would put her hat upon the bed. Can 
any one explain the psychology of it? 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


99 


I suppose a mystic would say we 
brought it upon ourselves by our defi¬ 
ance of the forces about us, the forces 
which inhabit “The Booms,” and are 
determined to recover all moneys tak¬ 
en away from their realm. Who knows 
all the mysteries of nature? 

I have just been reading a very inter¬ 
esting book called, “Ghosts I Have 
Met,” by Violet Tweedale, wherein she 
says, “There is a limitless world full of 
infinite possibilities all around us.” I 
remember once in crossing the ocean a 
stranger came up to me one day as I 
was sitting in my chair and spoke to 
me. She said she had seen me every day 
and was compelled by some unseen 
force to give me a message. I said I 
would be very glad to receive it. Her 
message was this, “Do not fight the 
forces.” How many times since have I 
turned her message over in my mind, 
especially at this moment when we are 
so disturbed over not being able to 
leave here on account of the strike. I 
am mentally fighting day and night, 
visiting the railroad station to see if 


100 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

there is a salon-lit or wagon-lit or even 
a couchette on the incoming trains. 
Talking with the “Agence Cook,” that 
“other-times” all powerful agent, in¬ 
terviewing the wagon-lit agent, who 
looks so distressed not to be able to do 
one thing for all the people who come to 
him for places, fills time. The more I al¬ 
low this mental attitude of determina¬ 
tion to have its way with me, the worse 
things seem to be, so perhaps this is the 
moment to put in practice her advice 
not to fight the unseen forces. What 
these great forces about us are is an all 
absorbing question to the world to-day. 
That such forces exist is now acknowl¬ 
edged by at least one-half of the world. 
Who knows but this war has been sent 
to open the minds of the people on this 
planet, to some knowledge of these un¬ 
seen forces to which we have so long 
remained indifferent. We all know that 
electricity exists in the world unseen, 
and we have been able to make enor¬ 
mous use of it, yet no one has ever seen 
it with the limited vision of the eyes of 
this body. Nora darling, I am sure I am 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


101 


boring you to extinction so will close 
this letter before I am tempted to say 
anything more on this, to me, all ab¬ 
sorbing question. I refuse to be a wom¬ 
an of one idea, like a friend here who is 
constantly left out of the nicest tea par¬ 
ties, as she forces everyone to listen to 
her hobby—astrology. Since she is one 
of my dearest friends, people apologize 
to me for not inviting her, saying, “You 
see, if we ask her no one else will get 
the slightest chance to talk, and you see 
some of us want to talk of other 
things.’’ Don’t forget to write me all 
the home news, for we read your letters 
over and over, they so breathe of you. 
We both send you our heartiest greet¬ 
ings and a warm embrace. 

Lovingly, 


Ysobel 


102 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


Dearest Eleanor,— 

Now, dear, it was nice of you to write 
me such a long letter. It is always a joy 
to hear from you. We, too, wish you 
were with us. When you are out of the 
hospital and able to travel, once more, 
you must take the first steamer and 
come. There will be the warmest wel¬ 
come awaiting you. You will then see 
for yourself we are not the starved, 
emaciated creatures your imagination 
has pictured us. There is no need to 
worry, we have all the sugar, butter, 
bread, milk and eggs that we need and 
we have never for a moment been with¬ 
out. Yesterday was a pastry-less day 
in all the tea houses, yet we were served 
all kinds of delicious canapees made of 
cheese on bread or herrings, or caviar 
on toast, or sandwiches of dark bread. 
We really enjoyed the change, I assure 
you. There is always sugar now, al¬ 
though if you eat in a hotel, you are 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


103 


limited to so many pieces each person, 
but if you keep house you have your 
sugar card, and may buy so much for 
each member of your household. That 
is to conserve the supply, so that all 
may have the same amount, and no one 
complains. We are as happy and con¬ 
tented as the day is long now that 
we have decided to remain quietly on 
the Riviera until the strikers per¬ 
mit us to move on. You see they are 
really taking God’s place now and we 
look to them for answers to our pray¬ 
ers. Somehow I feel that God did bet¬ 
ter with Russia than the strikers are 
doing. What do you think about it ? 
Last evening we unpacked our evening 
clothes and went to the opera. It was 
Giaconda. I used to love the music, and 
would still, I am sure, could I hear it, 
but the French people will never learn 
that the opera is not a “ salle de con¬ 
versation” The orchestra played dou¬ 
ble, double forte all the time, and natur¬ 
ally one’s conversation had to be dou¬ 
ble, double forte, in order to be heard 
above the thunderous uproar of all the 


104 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

bass drums and bass horns together. 
Then the soprano screamed trying to be 
heard, and the tenor tried to out-sing 
her, and when the chorus joined in, it 
was pandemonium let loose, as every 
one had to talk very loudly to be heard 
above this din. It was the same thing 
at the plays before the opera season be¬ 
gan. I used to go especially for the 
French, since, although I speak the lan¬ 
guage nearly as easily as my own, yet 
I find that I do not catch all the words 
at the theatre. I gave it up after sever¬ 
al attempts I assure you, it was of ab¬ 
solutely no use to turn around and 
politely ask them to arrest their con¬ 
versation for a few moments as you 
wished to hear the play, they would 
only raise their eyebrows in surprise, 
and hurry to make up the lost time. 
With loud conversation going on all 
about you, you may as well give up first 
as last. One afternoon I went out to 
the guichet at the end of the first act, 
with my two tickets, explained to the 
man in charge that I had a desire to 
learn this beautiful language, and since 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 105 

the people all about me wished to hold 
a conversation instead of listening to 
the play, would he be so very kind as to 
change my two tickets (one of which I 
was not using) for one of the empty 
seats I had noticed in the front row. 
He assured me that every seat in the 
house was taken. I assured him I had 
seen a whole section empty, about eight 
seats together. After we had “ assur¬ 
ed’ ’ each other alternately that the 
other was a liar, politely, of course, in 
this manner, “0, no, Madame, I assure 
you there are no empty seats.’’ “0, 
yes, Monsieur,” I rejoined, “I assure 
you there are several empty.” “Metis, 
no, Madame, je vous assure .” “Mats, 
out, Monsieur, je vous assure ,” until 
one or the other has conquered. (For 
they expect you to talk them down.) 
At last I say that I regret exceed¬ 
ingly they will not allow me the op¬ 
portunity of learning their beautiful 
language, give them my two seats, 
which they no doubt re-sell (as the 
French are always very thrifty) and go 
into “The Rooms” to play. 


106 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

Alas, and again alas, I have broken 
all my good resolutions never to play 
again. Last evening, between the acts, 
when every one goes out into the 
atrium, we found it so cold there that 
we drifted into “The Rooms’’ to keep 
warm and incidentally, “to look on.” 
It was only a minute before I was play¬ 
ing fast, three mille and a half in as 
many minutes. It made me think of 
our Irish friend who was here for a few 
weeks. My husband took him into 
“The Rooms” one day to show him 
about. “It’s an awful place, Jim,” 
said he, “I’ll not bring me mother and 
sisters here.” “Be a sport and play,” 
said my husband, “put on one five 
franc piece” “Niver in the world, Jim, 
I’ll niver be that foolish,” said he. 
Some moments later he said, “sure Jim, 
I belave I’ll risk it, and play just one 
piece, but who knows but I risk me soul 
in the doing of it.” “Brave boy,” re¬ 
plied my husband, “let me lead you to 
it,” linking his arm in his, but he 
changed his mind before he reached the 
table, saying, “No, Jim, I’ll not do it, 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


107 


sure, it was the divil tempting me.” We 
were much amused at the time, but 
last evening I thought of him and won¬ 
dered. One always has qualms of con¬ 
science when one loses, but when one 
wins—ah, that is a different story. I 
must dress now, to go out, as I have ac¬ 
cepted invitations to two teas, and this 
evening we are going to the Ganne con¬ 
cert. Tomorrow morning I will tell you 
all about it. 

Next morning. 

Well, here it is another day, and we 
are feeling more contented to remain 
here, as the sun in shining warmly 
again. There was much discussion at 
one of the tea parties yesterday about 
not being able to get “home to Eng¬ 
land.’ ’ “We have now passed the worst 
of the winter weather, and want to get 
back home,” was the constant com¬ 
plaint, but no one had any suggestions 
to offer as to the way of getting there 
except by aeroplane, which is much too 
expensive a way for the ordinary purse. 
Those who have gone by motor all the 
way to Paris, report that the roads 


108 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

are in too awful a condition to make 
the trip a thing of joy, so we can see 
nothing to do but to wait for the P. L. 
M. or the strikers, to take pity on us 
poor stranded mortals. Everybody pre¬ 
dicts that the Riviera will suffer next 
year, as we, who have had the exper¬ 
ience of such disregard to our comfort 
this year, will be careful not to place 
ourselves at the mercy of the P. L. M. 
another season. 

Last evening, the Ganne concert was 
a real joy. One can always depend upon 
an evening in this delightful salle. 
There, one really forgets for a time the 
distraction of gambling. If the spell of 
the music would only last, but when the 
joy of the music is over, one takes the 
ascenceur right up into the saile privee , 
where the tables lure one on again. I 
found myself breaking all my good res¬ 
olutions and getting the fever again, 
the moment I looked at the wheel. On 
went my money, and since I won quite 
a bit, I do not feel so prejudiced today 
against the game. I find myself think¬ 
ing, “ perhaps it is not so sinful a thing 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 109 

as I imagined.” Thus one saves one’s 
conscience. 

I met a really charming friend last 
evening. She complained of never see¬ 
ing me. “Are you so absorbed in the 
game that you never have time for your 
friends?” she asked me. “Not in the 
least,” I assured her. “I’m so glad to 
hear it,” she said, “for I have wanted 
to ask you to have tea with me to meet 
a rather peculiar person. You see I’m 
indebted to her for several favors. She 
lends me such a lot of interesting 
books. She is here with a man she is not 
married to, poor thing. I believe she 
used to say she was his cousin, but just 
now she says she is his nurse and he has 
promised to leave her all his money. 
Extraordinary! Isn’t it? She really 
tries to get invited about a bit by lend¬ 
ing people books and things. I no long¬ 
er mind these sort of people. I’ve de¬ 
cided it is their affair, and not mine. 
They have a right to do as they please. 
So, if you don’t mind coming to meet 
her, and aside from that I think she 
really has a kind heart.” The world is 


110 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


very tolerant over here; no one seems to 
mind queer people about one. Only last 
evening a young woman arrived at our 
hotel and joined two young men who 
had arrived a few days previous. She 
is very much painted and overdressed, 
and although she wears no wedding 
ring, no questions are asked. This sort 
of thing is not unusual here, I assure 
you. One sees it every day, yet no one 
starts a revival meeting, and no Billy 
Sunday arrives to stir up things. We 
went to the Sporting Club after the 
concert last evening, where there was 
the heaviest playing we have ever seen 
here. An Indian Prince had taken the 
bank at baccarat. The ordinary play 
at this table is from a hundred 
francs up. The banker had staked the 
entire table with stacks of mille franc 
notes when a young man challenged by 
saying “Banco.’’ This means that he 
would play the banker all alone for the 
entire stakes, of seventy-five thousand 
francs. He won. Then he left it all on 
the table, a hundred and fifty thousand 
francs and won again. He then put up 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


111 


a great package of bills and lost it all 
back to the Prince. This young man 
lost over two hundred and seventy-five 
thousand francs in a few moments, but 
he didn’t seem to mind in the least. He 
laughed when he found his pockets 
empty, and left the table. I was telling 
you a short time ago about a man who 
came over here from Nice bringing- 
eight men with him to play his system. 
Well, this morning I cut the enclosed 
from the Daily Mail, telling all about 
his having broken the bank at Monte 
Carlo. I, myself, saw him break the 
bank many times. 

BREAKING THE BANK. 


London Man’s Experience at Monte 
Carlo. 

The man who recently broke the 
bank at Monte Carlo three times in an 
hour has returned enviably to London. 

“I am a very old player at the ta¬ 
bles,” he said to a Daily Mail reporter 
yesterday, “but my just-finished two 
months at Monte Carlo have been my 



112 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

luckiest visit in 25 years. Oh, yes, I 
was lucky; you have to be. True, I 
played confidently and with a defen¬ 
sive system of my own invention, but 
I could not have succeeded as I did if 
Fortune had been against me. 

“It was rather spectacular play,” he 
said. “I spent most of my time over 
roulette, but that it paid was justifica¬ 
tion, I suppose. I was able to pay not 
only all the living expenses of myself 
and a party of friends off the tables, 
but also to come home in pocket. 

Three Women Players To One Man. 

“In the whole of my experience I do 
not remember seeing the tables so 
crowded. It is difficult to get a seat. 
British and French are at Monte Carlo 
in about equal numbers, and one thing 
that struck me was the number of wom¬ 
en players. 

“I saw several well-known people 
having bad luck and losing a lot, but 
one young Frenchman has done amaz¬ 
ingly well during the last three months. 
He has actually won £250,000 and, 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 113 


like a wise man, has packed up and 
gone away with it. The tables are pros¬ 
pering greatly, however, owing to the 
number of inexperienced and reckless 
players who are % at Monte Carlo. The 
bank has never done so well.” 

One afternoon they sent out five 
times for more money at the table 
where he was playing, and another eve¬ 
ning he did the same thing. Those at 
the table with him applauded and 
cheered. 

Despite all the money at Monte Car¬ 
lo, Mr. M-considers it possible to 

live more cheaply there than almost 
anywhere else—if one knows the ropes. 
People who set up their own flat, do 
their own marketing and so on, can live 
very well and pleasantly on very little. 
So many of the amusements are free 
that the cost of being entertained in 
this way is practically nothng. 

I was introduced to an American 
woman in “The Rooms” yesterday who 
said to me, “We musn’t tell the folks 
at home that we met at Monte Carlo.” 


114 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

“Why not?” asked I, “one meets all 
the world here.” “But folks at home 
are so funny, they’d think we were go¬ 
ing straight to the other place, you 
know, the place we do not mention.” 
Wasn’t that pure American? 

I must tell you that we have been 
greatly excited again over more shots 
in the garden. Everybody is talking 
again, but no more particulars have 
leaked out than about the other affair. 
This time two shots were fired and a 
woman’s voice called for help. We were 
in our rooms at the hotel and heard the 
shots but argued that it might be an 
automobile tire. The next morning 
every one was asking, “have you heard 
about the woman being shot and robbed 
in the gardens last night?” The report 
is that she had been winning at the 
Sporting Club, and had on a good many 
jewels, and when she left “The Rooms” 
she was followed. How even this infor¬ 
mation has leaked out is a mystery, as 
these things are hushed up at once here. 
We hear that fifteen pickpockets have 
already been arrested in “The Rooms,” 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


115 


which is a great comfort, but neverthe¬ 
less fills us with caution. Tomorrow 
night will be the mi-careme ball to 
which the Sporting Club has invited all 
its members and friends. Tickets can¬ 
not be bought. Every one must go in 
costume, and masked. I am sure it will 
be a brilliant affair. We are having 
great fun planning our costumes for it. 
I will write you all about it in my next 
letter. Eleanor, dear, IVe a secret to 
whisper in your ear, “I won three ‘en 
pleins’ yesterday afternoon. I am go¬ 
ing back this afternoon to break the 
bank!” Really, Monte Carlo is not such 
a bad place after all. 

We both send you our love and hope 
to hear by your next letter that you are 
much better and thinking of joining 
us here. 

Yours more hopefully, 

Ysobel. 


116 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

I’ve a sad confession to make. I did 
not break the bank, after all my hopes. 
I lost four mille and now I must play 
again, to get it hack. We went to the 
ball last evening. What an amount of 
money the Sporting Club spent to en¬ 
tertain its guests. The terrace entrance 
was used. The driveway outlined with 
poles draped with bunting and colored 
lights; the well-kept road, which is nev¬ 
er driven over except on some special 
occasion, was graveled, and the horses 
walked carefully over it. It seemed like 
going to a great palace ball, all thoughts 
of the Casino being put out of mind for 
the evening. What a delightful evening 
we had. The costumes were extremely 
beautiful, some being copies of old 
paintings. One which especially fasci¬ 
nated me was a copy of an old Goya, 
“La Bal Masque .” The black brocade 
of the large hooped skirt, the tiny sil- 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 117 


ver bodice, and the tri-cornered hat, 
with the black Spanish veil gathered 
across the nose just revealed the eyes, 
and encircling the head under the 
hat, made a wonderfully beautiful pic- 
tire. There seemed nothing incongruous 
to see this Spanish Donna dancing our 
modern dances to jazz music. She, in 
fact, seemed more in the picture than 
many. What added to the picture was 
the number of dominoes. Somehow, one 
sees the domino in all the old paintings 
of mi-careme masqued balls. I wish the 
custom was permitted at our fetes in 
America, but our invitations usually 
read “no dominoes admitted.” Such a 
mistake, I think, to exclude this pic¬ 
turesque costume. I heard one woman 
say, “who is that musty old English¬ 
man with his white wig and the Daily 
Telegram 1 ?” We couldn’t make out un¬ 
less he were representing Gladstone, 
that grand old man. The celebrated 
“Emerald Lady” of whom I wrote you 
wore a mediaeval costume with the 
high pointed head dress and a yellow 
bejeweled gown. There were innum- 


118 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


erable pierrots and pierrettes, but the 
one and all prevailing costume was the 
ordinary evening dress with a pow¬ 
dered white wig and domino. It seems 
that the wig is quite the fashion for eve¬ 
ning dress in England at this moment. 
Such a beautiful costume, and one I 
would willingly adopt, it is so becom¬ 
ing. It is much more likely we shall 
all be wearing working men’s and 
women’s costumes, if these strikes 
against law and order continue. I can¬ 
not think what the governments of the 
world are thinking of to allow the 
workers to tie up national industries, 
to refuse to deliver food to the cities, 
coal for the factories, railroads and 
steamships. Surely the world has gone 
mad. Added to the strike here, there is 
now one on at Nice, in the hotels. You 
see the strike is still uppermost in all 
our minds since we all want to get back 
to Paris. If the guests would only 
strike against paying such exorbitant 
bills, it would be to some purpose. 

Monte Carlo visitors can think of 
nothing, now, but the wedding of the 



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LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


119 


Duchess de Valentinois, granddaughter 
of the Prince. Yesterday, the guests ar¬ 
rived and all Monte Carlo was at the 
train to meet them. The whole Prin¬ 
cipality is en fete in anticipation of the 
wedding tomorrow. Flags are displayed 
everywhere, flowers offered for sale on 
the streets and the shops, every one is 
happy and gay. I have cut some of the 
notices from the papers, and will en¬ 
close them for you to see. Prince Pierre 
de Polinac, the bridegroom, has been 
naturalized a subject of the Principali¬ 
ty of Monaco. You see there is no male 
heir, so the granddaughter will inherit 
the throne, and her husband be made a 
subject, and become Due de Valenti¬ 
nois and a Grimaldi. 

Count Pierre de Polinac is a member 
of one of the oldest families of France, 
dating from the 10th century. The 
Princess is Charlotte, Duchess de Va¬ 
lentino, whose father is Hereditary 
Prince, and whose grandfather is reign¬ 
ing Prince of Monaco. She was born 
at Constantinople twenty-two years 
ago, and is the official heiress to the 


120 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


Principality, and in the fullness of time 
will no doubt be reigning Princess of 
Monaco. This evening the Principalty 
will be illuminated and after all the 
musical societies have serenaded their 
Serene Highnesses there will be “re- 
traite aux flambeaux.” On Thursday, 
Prince Albert will give a garden party 
at the Palace, and at night there will be 
a gala representation at the opera, at 
which their Serene Highnesses and 
their guests will be present. 

At the same time there will be a pop¬ 
ular ball in front of the Palace. This 
afternoon we took a drive about Monte 
Carlo and up the hill as near the Palace 
as we were allowed to go, in order to see 
the decorations, and join in the scenes 
of festivity. 

I think I had better discontinue my 
letter until after the wedding when, 
since we are invited, I can tell you all 
about it. 

***** 

Friday. 

The civil marriage took place today 
at eleven in the sumptuous Throne 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 121 

Room of the Palace of the Grimaldi 
family on the rock of Monaco. On the 
conclusion of the official part of the 
proceedings, the bride and bridegroom 
shook hands with all the guests and 
conversed with them, retiring from the 
Throne Room about a quarter past 
twelve. Since yesterday Prince Albert 
had become a naturalized Monagasque, 
and has been authorized by Prince 
Albert to take for himself and his de¬ 
scendants the name and full arms and 
liveries solely of the house of Grimaldi 
and no others. There is a precedent for 
this in the Grimaldi family, for in 1715 
Jacques de Matignon, Count de To- 
rigny, a Norman nobleman, married 
Princess Louise de Monaco, and adopt¬ 
ed the name and arms of Grimaldi. 
Tomorrow, after the religious cere¬ 
mony, M. Pierre Grimaldi will receive 
from the Prince Albert, the title of Due 
de Valentinois. 

The ceremony today was performed 
by M. P. Roussel, Secretary of State. 
Prince Albert wore a frock coat and no 
decorations. Hereditary Prince Louis, 


122 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

father of the bride, wore a khaki uni¬ 
form of a lieutenant-colonel in the for¬ 
eign legion of the French army, and the 
red and white ribbon of the Mona- 
gasque Order of Saint Charles. The 
Duchess was charming in a simple gray 
dress, with a black lace hat. The bride¬ 
groom wore a frock coat. 

M. Roussel opened the proceedings 
by reading a complimentary address to 
each of the principals, and then, in ac¬ 
cordance with the statute of the house 
of Grimaldi, asked the reigning Prince 
if, as head of the family, he authorized 
the marriage. Prince replied, “I au¬ 
thorize it.” The same question received 
the same answer from Prince Louis. 
Turning to the Duchess he asked her if 
she accepted Prince Grimaldi for her 
husband. The corresponding question 
was next addressed to the bridegroom. 
M. Roussel then said: “In the name of 
the Prince and of the law, I declare you 
united in law.” He subsequently read 
the voluminous marriage certificate 
which was then signed by the bride and 






















LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


123 


groom and all the royal family and 
guests. 

Tonight the Principality is brilliant¬ 
ly illuminated and a Venetian fete is 
being held in the harbor. 

**■**_ 

Saturday. 

Monaco is still en fete! Early this 
morning throngs were to be seen walk¬ 
ing or driving to the summit of the rock 
in evening dress and white tie, which in 
France constitutes ceremonial dress 
(even in the day time). The Facade of 
the cathedral at the southern extremity 
of the rock looking over the Mediter¬ 
ranean constituted an ideal scene for a 
great marriage. The Carabineers of 
Monaco in their red and blue uniforms, 
with red and white feathers in their 
helmets, were drawn up outside the 
cathedral to form the guard of honor. 
Long before eleven o’clock, the hour 
appointed for the ceremony, the some¬ 
what austere looking church was filled. 
The men who were not in uniform wore 
dress suits. 

The bridal party entered the church 


124 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

to the strains of the wedding march 
specially composed for the occasion by 
Leon Jehin and dedicated by him to 
the Duchess. The bride entered on the 
arm of her father, Hereditary Prince 
Louis, who wore the khaki uniform of 
a lieutenant-colonel of the Foreign 
Legion in the French Army. The bride 
wore a simple dress of white moire 
satin, lace sleeves, and a veil of tulle 
placed flat on her hair, and surmounted 
by a wreath of orange blossoms. 

The bridegroom took his seat on one 
of the two red velvet arm chairs with 
gilt woodwork, placed in the center of 
the choir. The Prince of Monaco then 
led his granddaughter to the other. 
Contrary to the custom in ordinary 
marriages the bride was seated on the 
right, facing the altar. Cardinal Lucon 
preceded the ceremony with an ad¬ 
dress, at the conclusion of which the 
bridal pair moved up to the altar. 

After the sacramental questions had 
been answered, the nuptial benediction 
was pronounced by Cardinal Lucon, 
and Mgr. Daffvia, Bishop of Ventimille. 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 125 

After the bride and groom had returned 
to their seats, the signing of the regis¬ 
ter began, the Duchess signing first. 
Subsequently, the register was signed 
by all who had signed the certificate of 
the civil marriage yesterday. When 
the ceremony was concluded Prince Al¬ 
bert and the rest of the bridal party 
left the church, leaving the bride and 
bridegroom behind, who remained in 
the choir until the clergy had retired. 
They then walked down the central 
aisle and back to the palace on foot 
through the narrow beflagged streets, 
amid a crowd of Monagasques. 

There are to be illuminations and 
fireworks again this evening in the 
Principality, and public balls in the 
streets. Thus they celebrate, for two 
days, a royal wedding here. Now that 
the royal wedding is over we are turn¬ 
ing our thoughts once more to Paris, 
since the trains are again running, 
and we have obtained a Salon lit a 
deux . One certainly travels in comfort 
in France if one wishes to go de luxe . 
This compartment that we have re- 


126 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

served has two beds side by side and 
which fold up into chairs in the day time. 
There is a dressing table with bureau 
drawers between our beds, and a toilet- 
room en suite with hot or cold water. 
We take our own lunch and do not 
leave our apartment, locking ourselves 
in securely en route on account of the 
strikers who still threaten the trains. 

How sad we are at leaving the beau¬ 
tiful Riviera, but the season is nearly 
over. If we wait any longer the rush 
for tickets will be so great that we may 
be delayed months before getting 
away. So we say good-bye regretfully, 
but assure ourselves of the joy of re¬ 
turning next year. Our united greet¬ 
ings from the land of sunshine and 
flowers. 

Very devotedly, 


Ysobel. 



ASCENCEUR 

(Elevator) from train, Directly up to the Casino Entrance 

















4 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 127 


Monte Carlo, Monaco, Dec. 6. 
Dearest Eleanora,— 

Here we are in Monte Carlo, once 
more, another year, the most beautiful 
spot on the Eiviera, ,and the most 
thrilling. When we left Paris four days 
ago, we were bundled up in furs and 
breathing damp cold air, but when we 
arrived at Monte Carlo it was like 
reaching the tropics, the heat and the 
sunshine were so intense. As we de¬ 
scended from the train the first thing 
we heard was the call of the elevator 
boy who greets the arrival of every 
train with his song, 



As-cen-ceur As-cen-ceur 

which ascenceur, by the way, takes you 
right up to the Casino. One need lose 










128 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

no time here in walking up the hill to 
the gambling rooms, the quickest way 
is by the ascenceur. 

We, haying spent the night in the 
train, preferred to go directly to our 
hotel, before yielding to the fascina¬ 
tions of “The Rooms’’ once more. 
Every morning I sit in the brilliant 
sunshine on my balcony, overlooking 
the Mediterranean, and after luncheon 
take an hour’s ride along the coast. At 
two-thirty the sun goes behind the 
mountains, and we hurry home to our 
hotel to have our windows closed tight¬ 
ly, and fires lighted in the fireplaces. 
Then we either stay at home for the aft¬ 
ernoon, or we go to the Casino to play. 
Once in “The Rooms,” the fascination 
of the game is equally enticing, wheth¬ 
er you win or lose, for if you win, you 
keep right on, in hopes of winning 
more, and if you lose, you keep right 
on, in hopes of winning back what you 
have lost. 

I assure you Monte Carlo is never 
without its thrills. Yesterday afternoon 
a woman got up from the tables in the 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 129 


outer rooms where she had been play¬ 
ing, walked to one of the big mirrors 
which line the walls, took out a revol¬ 
ver and shot herself. As quick as a flash, 
one of the innumerable attendants 
pulled out a black cloth he had con¬ 
cealed somewhere about him, threw it 
over the body, and had it out through 
one of the sliding panels in the wall 
before the game could be interrupted. 
On went the game as feverishly as ever. 

“ Monsieurs , fates vos jeux. Vous 
jeux sont faites ? Bien ne va plus.” 

Hundreds of people crowding around 
the tables, all on the same thought, in¬ 
tent making a fortune at Monte Carlo. 

In the inner rooms where the aris¬ 
tocracy of the world play, one sees the 
same old faces, year after year. They 
not only play at Monte Carlo, they 
make the rounds from one fashionable 
gambling place to another, each in its 
season. Vichy comes first in the early 
summer, then Trouville and Deauville 
next, about August. In September, 
Aix-les-Bains, after which one goes to 
Paris for October or November. In De- 


x30 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


cember one sees the same people at San 
Moritz, up in the mountains of Switzer¬ 
land. At Easter one must be in Rome, 
or in Monte Carlo again, where it is 
then the very height of the season. 
Thus the years go around for the idle 
rich and hundreds of others who spend 
their lives at gambling resorts. 

This year is no exception to the rule. 
Here are the same people one has seen 
for the last ten years and perhaps long¬ 
er. Here are also the same freaks. No¬ 
where, even at the cure places, do you 
see so many lame people, walking with 
canes. They say it is standing so much, 
day after day, at the tables which af¬ 
fects the knees of these poor lame ones. 

Besides the lame, one meets the 
chronic invalids, the old women who 
have no homes or families to fill their 
lives, and who divert themselves by liv¬ 
ing the year round at Monte Carlo, 
making their own hats and dressing as 
freakishly as possible. One old hab¬ 
itue of Monte Carlo, we call “The Gen¬ 
eral/ J a woman about seventy. It seems 
that her mind became touched after the 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


131 


death of her husband, and she still lives 
in the rooms of the hotel where he died. 
She never leaves here, winter or sum¬ 
mer. She dresses in the most peculiar 
way. Last evening she appeared at din¬ 
ner in a dress of bright yellow with red 
bands, a VEspagnole , all sewn over 
with sequins of brass, a hat with two 
flags crossed in the front, the English 
and French, and a green and purple 
feather standing straight up in front. 
Two veils hung down behind, one of 
white lace, the other of blue chiffon. 
Over her dress she wore an old-fash¬ 
ioned lace coat. She is really a pathetic 
figure, for her head nods and shakes 
all through dinner, while she talks to 
herself. There are many such here, all 
more or less demented. For many years 
one saw here, season after season, the 
“Man with the Big Foot.” An old 
Scotch laird who had married his cook, 
quite an old couple, helping each other 
along as they walked together on the 
front every morning. 

Who do you think I saw here this 
morning? The man we call “Jewels.” 


132 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

Did I write you about bim last season? 
He is most slovenly in bis dress, always 
with bis bands in bis pockets, bis coat 
thrown back, bis clothes never pressed, 
always the same grey suit, year after 
year, but loaded down with jewels. He 
has in the button bole of bis coat a large 
ruby, which looks like the top of a bat 
pin. On every finger of both bands be 
wears rings set with different colored 
stones. Even bis thumb has a ring. He 
wears bracelets on bis wrist, and who 
knows what be has on bis ankles? He 
wears a double watch chain, huge in 
size, extending either side from the 
button bole of bis vest, to each vest 
pocket. We often wonder what be has 
attached to each end of that chain. He 
is one of the big players here, and like 
all the others wins one day and loses 
the next. I made a sketch of bim in 
“The Rooms’’ today which may amuse 
you, so I enclose it. I am told be is an 
occultist and believes in the vibrations 
of colors. 

Another habitue of “The Rooms” 
is a woman who is called “La Bella 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


133 








134 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 



At the Tables 
“Rien ne va plus” 

Bianca.’’ In her youth, it is said, she 
was a mistress of one of Europe’s 
kings. Now she is one of the spies of 
Monte Carlo. She still has some claim 
to beauty although a woman of about 
seventy. One never sees her in the in¬ 
ner rooms, although in her youth noth¬ 
ing was denied her. Now she mingles 
in the great crowds in the outer rooms, 



LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


135 


looking on, but rarely playing. It is 
generally reported that she is one of 
the detectives in the pay of the Casino. 

I must tell you of a great Scotch 
laird here. He is now one of the strand¬ 
ed ones. Years ago he had great wealth, 
but the fascinations of “The Rooms’’ 
have left him with almost no income, 
yet he is seen here every day, from the 
opening of “The Rooms” in the morn¬ 
ing until the closing hour at night, 
working over his own pet system at the 
tables. One day I was having tea with 
a dear old lady who gives him a home 
here, when he came in for his tea. He 
was greatly excited, as he had won six 
mille francs that afternoon. I asked 
him if he was going to keep “the money 
or give it back to the tables. He said, 
Oh, no, he need not necessarily give it 
back if he played carefully. He cheats 
himself into the belief that his method 
is infallible, but he argues that some¬ 
times when he gets tired he gets excit¬ 
ed, and careless, throwing “eu pleins” 
all over the table, with the inevitable 
losses. I saw him lose again that six 


136 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

mille and more besides, the very next 
afternoon. 

About the freaks of Monte Carlo 
there is an illustrated book published 
with caricatures of them. Monte Carlo, 
as you perhaps know, is full of men and 
women who are stranded here. They 
live from hand to mouth, usually in one 
small room, making every possible en¬ 
deavor to keep up appearances. I know 
one woman who was once one of the 
richest women in the world. Now she is 
living here in one tiny room, cooking 
her own meals over a spirit lamp, and 
when she manages to win a few louis at 
the tables, takes her dinner in a restau¬ 
rant. She grows thinner and older ev¬ 
ery year, and one wonders if she will 
be able to go on much longer. When 
one remembers that this game was in¬ 
vented by a monk, one wonders. Per¬ 
haps he invented it before he became 
a monk, then entered a monastery to 
do penance for his sins. 

Occasionally one hears that there is 
some talk of closing the Casino. I re¬ 
cently read in one of the newspapers an 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


137 


article headed, “Prince promises to 
close the Casino,” but it amounted to 
nothing. I believe the lease and permit 
has many more years to run. I am sure 
as long as so much money is made for 
the stockholders, there will be no ques¬ 
tion of closing this very remunerative 
place. Monsieur B., who manages the 
place, and who has now made it into a 
stock company, pays the Prince of 
Monaco a large sum each year for the 
privilege. Together with this huge sum 
which runs into millions, he keeps up 
the streets of the Principality, pays all 
salaries to police, and all other em¬ 
ployees, also all the taxes of the town. 

There are, as I have already men¬ 
tioned to you, absolutely no taxes for 
the individual to pay here. The Casino 
takes care of all that. Life used to be 
very reasonable here before the war, it 
having been considered the cheapest 
place in the world to live, but—the play 
at the Casino adds to the expense if one 
plays . Naturally there are persons liv¬ 
ing here who never go to “The Rooms,” 
but they are the strong minded ones. I 


138 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


have one friend here who only plays 
five francs a day, just enough to get 
her cigarette money. If she loses she 
has no cigarettes, if she wins she does. 
She is in the book of caricatures I told 
you about. She is represented with a 
five franc piece in one hand, her eye 
glass in the other, leaning over the ta¬ 
bles and hesitating before she decides 
the all important question of where to 
risk so large a sum. Should she win she 
leaves “The Rooms’’ immediately and 
goes to buy the cigarettes which are 
her one joy in life. 

My dear Eleanora, how I do run on. 
You will be quite bored with all this 
gossip, yet when I think of you lying 
upon your hospital bed, an incurable, 
when we used to be always together 
travelling, I feel that every little inci¬ 
dent of my days will be of interest to 
you, and help you to forget your suffer¬ 
ings and remember the happy days we 
used to have together. 

Cheer up, dearest friend, who knows 
but that science will yet find a way of 
curing you, and we will again be travel- 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 139 

ling together. Do not call yourself an 
incurable, you make my heart ache 
when you use that horrid word. Any¬ 
way I am glad to hear you have that 
beautiful wheel chair to get about the 
room in, even if it is only from the bed 
to the window. I am coming to Ameri¬ 
ca soon to see you, perhaps in the early 
spring, so be looking for me, and for 
something nice I am bringing you. I 
will write again next week, and am 
hoping to have something more amus¬ 
ing to tell you. 

Yours very fondly, 


Ysobel. 


140 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

Your letter which has just arrived 
amuses me very much. You are a silly 
to think of suggesting that I publish 
these letters. Who in the world would 
want to read them, but you'? No one 
else would have the patience to put up 
with my ramblings. However, I am glad 
if they amuse you. I have something 
very exciting to tell you this week. You 
know there is always more or less 
cheating going on here, and more or 
less argument about whether “The 
Rooms ’ 9 are run honestly or not. Nat¬ 
urally they must be run honestly is the 
argument, because if the croupiers 
could roll the ball to bring out any num¬ 
ber they wanted, they could have their 
families there and roll for them to win. 
Then they would soon be rich, and not 
need to work such long hours in smoky 
rooms. This certainly is a conclusive 
argument, and a proven one, for the 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


141 


croupiers work for years, and their 
sons are taught the same business, their 
wives and daughters work in the cloak 
rooms, and they certainly never get 
rich. Yet there are ways . There are al¬ 
ways women, and men also, who play 
here just to cheat. When the winning 
number is called they reach over the 
tables and say “c’est a moi, ,, meaning 
it is their piece which has won, when it 
really is not. Immediately the person 
who put on the piece claims it, and then 
begins an argument. It is said that two 
whole sets of croupiers were discharged 
this week for aiding and abetting cer¬ 
tain women, and that they all divided 
the spoils. The entrance cards were 
taken from these women, and the crou¬ 
piers lost their positions as well. So you 
see there is every intention of running 
the place honestly. Events run in pairs 
they say, and this week proves the say¬ 
ing. It seems they caught a man cheat¬ 
ing at baccarat. This is played only at 
the Sporting Club, and commences after 
midnight. A man who had been win¬ 
ning heavily here had a number of con- 


142 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

I 

federates about the tables who stood be¬ 
hind other players and could look into 
the cards of those playing against him. 
Then they signaled to him in such a 
way that he knew what cards were held. 
Thus he would know whether to draw 
or not. I am afraid this needs explain¬ 
ing. You see one person plays against 
the entire table, and he, being the bank¬ 
er, deals the cards. Two cards to each 
side of the table. One person plays for 
his entire side of the table, against the 
bank, which is the man dealing, and 
who has put up the money. The game 
is nine, and seven, eight or nine is what 
one draws for. Suppose you hold a face 
card, it counts ten, and a two drawn 
with that, makes twelve or two. The 
man standing behind you will signal to 
his friend, the banker, what you have 
drawn so will know whether to draw or 
not. A set of men who had lost heavily 
by his cheating, determined to get back 
at him, so they arranged that the per¬ 
son holding the cards at either end of 
the table should so cover with his hand 
that the confederates standing behind 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


143 


could not see, and the result was, he 
won no more by cheating. After that 
his entrance card was taken away from 
him, and his days at the Sporting Club 
were over. Of course you know that the 
Casino, the Hotel de Paris, the Cafe de 
Paris, and the Sporting Club are all 
run by the Casino Company. One 
can go from the Casino to the Hotel 
de Paris and on to the Sporting Club 
without taking a step out of doors. 
From the Casino you take the as- 
cenceur (elevator) descending to an 
underground passage which takes you 
under the street, then you take an¬ 
other ascenseur up into the foyer of the 
Hotel de Paris, where you walk across 
the hall, then up a half flight of stairs, 
on down another long corridor, up an¬ 
other ascenseur, walking along an¬ 
other long corridor, and you arrive 
at the Sporting Club. Almost any¬ 
one may enter the Casino provided 
he is not a working person earning his 
living in the Principality, but only 
members may play at the Sporting 
Club. 


144 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


The requirements to become a mem¬ 
ber of the Sporting Club are that you 
must be proposed by two members, and 
that you must belong to a club of good 
standing in England or America, and 
be able to show the book of member¬ 
ship. They have a large list of clubs on 
their books, and can easily look you up. 
As I said a few moments ago, events 
go in pairs, so it proves, for again this 
evening there was a scene in the salle 
prive. Seveteen was called as the 
winning number. An Englishwoman 
claimed the money upon this number, 
and was paid for the two louis which 
she had upon it. A Frenchwoman pro¬ 
tested and a great row took place im¬ 
mediately. The story went all around 
town that the Frenchwoman used a hat 
pin and the Englishwoman the rake, 
but one who was present and saw the 
whole affair told me the truth about it. 
It seems that no hat pin entered into 
the affair at all. The Frenchwoman 
screamed a lot of abuse at the croupier, 
took his rake and raked up all the 
money on the table and shoved it onto 



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LETTERS PROM MONTE CARLO 


145 


the floor. She was immediately taken 
by both arms and hurriedly pushed 
through one of the secret doors in the 
wall, into a private room, where she 
could row the authorities to her heart’s 
content without disturbing the game. 
Her ticket was taken away from her 
so she will never be able to come to 
“The Rooms” again. 

There was a great discussion at a 
dinner party where we were last eve¬ 
ning about whether the tables were 
manipulated or not. This always was, 
and always will be, the much discussed 
question here. It seems there was a 
man winning rather heavily at the ta¬ 
bles yesterday, and the way he did it 
was to play against a man who was los¬ 
ing. The latter was covering the center 
numbers of each dozen, namely the five, 
the seventeen, and the thirty-two. 
These he covered with the carre, che- 
vaux, and en plein with the maximums. 
Then he covered three of the simple 
chances, but left the dixquinze (10-15) 
and the vignt-deux-vignt-sept (22-27) 
uncovered. These were practically the 


146 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

only places on the entire roulette table 
which he had not covered for he had 
also covered zero and the quatre pre¬ 
miere. When he covered manque, it in- 
inevitably came up in the vignt-deux- 
vignt-sept (22-27) which he had not 
covered with mille franc notes. So you 
see it gave rise to the conclusion that 
the tables could be manipulated. Every¬ 
one was discussing it, whether it could 
or could not be done. Many were the 
stories told at that dinner table last 
evening. One man who has played here 
for years and thinks he knows the ta¬ 
bles very well told us that he had only 
played lightly, while he took the oppor¬ 
tunity to watch the methods of the 
croupiers and the chefs . He said that 
the whole thing was controlled by the 
chef , and it is the duty of the crou¬ 
piers to follow his directions implicit¬ 
ly/'’ “But how can this be,” I said, “I 
have stood beside the chef and I have 
sat beside the croupier turning, and 
never have I heard any instructions 
given.” “Naturally not,” he replied, 
“but there are other and more subtle 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


147 


methods besides speech of conveying 
one’s wishes; such things as prear¬ 
ranged signals and natural movements 
of the body only to be translated by the 
initiated; and it is only when he has 
observed these same signals given day 
by day, and for weeks and months, and 
noticed that the croupier never fails to 
glance swiftly and furtively at his chef , 
or at the sous-chef before he spins the 
ball, that one is driven to the conclu¬ 
sion that all is not quite as it is sup¬ 
posed to be.” After this everyone had 
something to say of their own exper¬ 
iences. One woman asked, “Have you 
ever noticed that the croupier next in 
order to preside at the wheel is always 
given a few minutes’ freedom previous 
to beginning his duty, another croupier 
taking his place meanwhile? On this 
particular occasion, when the croupier 
returned he asked the chef , “Quel 
tableau V ’ The reply was “ Trent - 
quatre , Vignt-quatre (34, 24).” Now 
these numbers will be found to embrace 
just one-third of the wheel, and in this 
instance were approximately situated 


148 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


where handles pointed between. She 
said she watched carefully and noticed 
that in turning he always started the 
ball near these two numbers, and in¬ 
variably used one or other of those par¬ 
ticular handles that pointed toward 
those numbers. 

She then appealed to all present. 
“Now could this be accidental V 9 She 
told us another incident. She said that 
late one afternoon when the play was 
slack she was showing a certain amount 
of hesitation about what to play when 
she finally decided to play on black, and 
did so. The croupier spun the ball, and 
then, catching the lady’s eye, he placed 
a finger on his cheek, and slowly rubbed 
it. She noticed this and grasping the 
meaning of this sign hurriedly took 
off her piece and transferred it to the 
red just in time, and she won. Again 
she played on black, and again the sig¬ 
nal, and promptly she again changed 
her piece over; another win. The next 
time she thought she would lay on red 
and was on the point of doing so, when, 
looking at the croupier, she saw he was 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


149 


busy pinching his coat sleeve, a signal 
that she was to play black, which she 
did and won again. 

You can well imagine that after all 
these different ones had told their ex¬ 
periences, every one in turn had an 
opinion to offer, some of them more or 
less absurd than this incident. If I 
can remember some of them I will 
write them down in my letters to 
you. I remember how one man, who 
thinks he is very wise, said that one 
day he had noticed a very remark¬ 
able run. It seems that a young 
woman was playing a progression on a 
single transversal. She continued her 
game for several weeks, gaining a little 
now and again, just enough to encour¬ 
age her to go on playing. Alas and alack, 
there came a day when that transversal 
absolutely refused to come up. She 
played on and on, however, until her 
capital was gone, as well as all her pre¬ 
vious winnings, when she tearfully left 
the table. 

Had she stayed a moment longer she 
would have had the satisfaction of see- 


150 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

ing her transversal come up, and repeat 
itself several times. For over forty 
spins her transversal had not come up. 
Naturally the suspicious one imme¬ 
diately said, “I told you so.” 

Such suspicious circumstances do, 
however, very often occur, although I 
am positive the tables are perfectly 
honest. I, myself, was watching the ta¬ 
bles day after day to see a certain Cu¬ 
ban woman’s play. She plays here year 
after year, and is to be seen at all the 
fashionable gambling places of France 
in turn. Her play is very high. She cov¬ 
ered the table with maximums en plein , 
being careful always to play more 
heavily on zero, quatre premier , and 
several numbers in the first and second 
dozens. Day after day the first dozen 
never turned up, and she was losing 
enormously. Finally she became very 
angry and left the table saying, “It is 
most extraordinary that the first dozen 
never comes up when I play on it.” 
Soon after she had left the table, the 
first dozen came up and continued to 
come again and again. These circum- 


LETTERS PROM MONTE CARLO 


151 


stances are so frequent here that it 
causes general remark, yet it certainly 
is fate. 

Another woman said that one after¬ 
noon she was standing at a table look¬ 
ing on when she suddenly looked up, 
feeling some one’s eyes upon her, and 
saw a chef pointing her out to another 
chef who wrote something down in his 
little book. She had won sixteen mille 
the previous week on the roulette table. 
After that no matter at which table she 
played several chefs were present. Not 
another sou did she make, losing every 
day until she had not only given back 
to the bank the sixteen mille but eight 
mille besides, when she decided she was 
a marked woman and she would not be 
allowed to win again. 

One hears so many of these absurd 
tales at Monte Carlo one does not know 
what to believe, but losers will get 
suspicious . 

I heard of a player today who once 
backed zero three hundred times with¬ 
out it appearing. 

I have so much to tell you but it will 


152 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

have to lap over to my next letter since 
I have written so much today. I am off 
to the Casino now to gather fresh gos¬ 
sip, and who knows, but I will venture 
my louis again in spite of all the gossip 
of last evening. One never really 
knows, you see, and is ever ready to 
chance it. Best of greetings from us all 
to you, dearest Eleanora. Perhaps I 
may take your advice (who knows) and 
publish these letters some day. Be sure 
you keep them all safely for me, “n’est 
ce pas , ma clierieV 9 
Very fondly, 


Ysobel. 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


153 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

My conscience has been troubling me 
ever since I wrote you last. I promise 
not to bore you with so long a let¬ 
ter again. Alas, Monte Carlo is not 
the gay place it was last year. We 
miss as yet many familiar faces. The 

Duke of E-and his friends are not 

here on his yacht as usual, the Cuban 
woman who left so angrily last year has 
not returned. The man we call jewels 
is here but never plays, only walks 
about “The Rooms.’’ Cry-baby-lady 
has returned and comes to “The 
Rooms” once in a while, but never 
plays a penny, says she is tired of los¬ 
ing. None of the Indian princes are 
here this year as yet, and, as they were 
all very big players, they attracted a 
crowd at whichever table they played. 
Very few of the pretty cocottes are 
here. They were always made very wel¬ 
come by hotel keepers and croupiers 



154 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


alike, for they attracted the rich men, 
who are always big players. The rea¬ 
son of all this we do not really know, 
although it may be because every hotel 
keeper in Monte Carlo has augmented 
his prices three times as much as last 
year, besides adding a tax de luxe , a 
thing unheard of last year, when all 
France was charging it. This year 
France has abolished the tax, and 
Monte Carlo puts it on. At one hotel 
here, friends of ours have been notified 
that after the fifteenth of January the 
price of their rooms will be increased 
fifteen per cent, then there is a ten per 
cent tax on the weekly bill, three 
francs tax each meal for the music, 
and when you leave the dining room 
a plate is held out for tips extra 
for the music. The shops have also 
more than doubled their prices, yet 
shopkeepers all complain of the lack 
of business. It looks as if they all 
intended to kill the goose who laid 
the golden eggs. Such a mistake!! The 
whole of Europe is war mad just now, 
trying to make up, in one year, for the 


LETTERS PROM MONTE CARLO 155 

/ 

losses of several. This talk of expelling 
all foreigners, or taxing them to such 
an extent that they cannot remain, is 
another bit of hysteria, a result of the 
war. Let us hope they become sane 
again before they ruin their country, 
by expelling the foreigner who comes 
here to spend money and amuse him¬ 
self. 

I was so excited last week over all 
the tales I heard at that dinner party 
that I cannot get it out of my mind. 

Everybody who was there is still 
asking, “do you think it probable that 
the croupiers can roll any number they 
like, and if so how is it done 1 ? Now of 
course such tales leave their impres¬ 
sion, and we have all been watching 
carefully. Every time I see a chef rub¬ 
bing his hands together, I wonder if it 
is a signal to the croupier who is roll¬ 
ing. When he rubs his right cheek, 
I watch to see where the number comes 
up. I cannot say I have made out 
what it all means, or that it means any¬ 
thing at all, as far as I can see. Since 
I am on the subject, I may as well go 


156 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


on and tell you all that I have heard 
about the roulette wheel. There was 
something said about right and left 
hand spins. When I asked for an ex¬ 
planation I was told that a right hand 
spin was when the ball went around 
the circle the way the hands of a clock 
travel. A left hand spin when it goes 
around the other way. If you look care¬ 
fully at the wheel you will see that there 
are diamond shaped objects around the 
outer circle of the wheel, some with the 
diamond obstacles upright and some 
horizontal. These are disposed of dif¬ 
ferently at different tables. Now, the 
majority of people think that at all the 
tables the wheels are exactly alike. Not 
at all. Some wheels have the handles 
pointing at one number and some at 
others. The croupier reaches forward 
to take hold of one handle or other 
when he starts the ball rolling. “He 
knows exactly which handle he intends 
to reach for, and he receives his orders 
from his chef who sits opposite him,” is 
what they said. What these signals 
are, may vary from day to day, and are 


LETTERS from monte carlo 


157 


changed altogether if the croupier is 
watched too carefully. Inspectors are 
standing all about, especially when 
there is a large player winning too 
heavily. They also watch anyone who 
plays a system. It is said they know 
every system by name. Certain it is, 
that every large player’s name is in a 
little book which is kept by the chefs . 
Walking up to the table one day to 
watch the play of the Cuban lady I 
wrote you about, I stood behind the 
chef when he opened his little book and 
consulted it. I saw over his shoulder the 
name of the lady with “thirty-five 
thousand mille” beside it. They say 
a record is kept of what sum each large 
player has made or lost during the sea¬ 
son, and if that player has gained too 
much they set to work to roll against 
him or her as the case may be. This 
particular woman that I speak of 
has not returned this year. I saw 
her get very angry last year towards 
the end of the season. She spoke 
up suddenly one day, saying,“It is very 
curious that although I have played 


153 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


‘Zero’ and the ‘Quatre premier’ every 
day and all day for the past week it 
never once turns up.” “No wonder,” 
my friend went on to explain, “she had 
it too heavily covered with maxi- 
mums.” So you see there are always 
suspicious ones here at Monte Carlo, 
hut nothing has ever been proven 
against “The Rooms.” There couldn’t 
be a raid you see, since the whole town 
is run by the Casino Company. They 
pay so much a year to the principality 
for the privilege of running a gambling- 
house and pay all the expenses of the 
town. They hire and pay the police, they 
keep detectives innumerable, they keep 
up the streets, and no one pays taxes 
here, therefore there can be no question 
ever of an enquiry. You will remember 
I told you, long ago, that it is a 
great mistake to have a favorite num¬ 
ber. One woman who I know slight¬ 
ly here, has been playing her fav¬ 
orite number seventeen, covering it 
with plaques, en plein, carre and 
cheveau for at least a month with¬ 
out winning once. At last she had lost 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 159 

all her money except five louis. She said 
to the chef , “I have lost enough now 
and will never play again.’ ’ “ Try once 
more,” he whispered to her. “It would 
not be any use,” she replied. “I should 
only lose again.” “Don’t say that, try 
again,” he insisted. So my friend 
played this time with small pieces, and 
it came up twice in succession. How¬ 
ever she couldn’t keep on as she had 
lost all her capital. It does not do al¬ 
ways to follow the advice of the chef 
when he whispers to you to play a cer¬ 
tain number. I have tried it. Only last 
evening the chef beside whom I was 
standing said to me, “play 14,” which 
I did only to see another number turn 
up. I believe they amuse themselves 
this way once in a while to test your 
credulity. 

Many amusing events take place in 
the Casino. A friend of mine tells of a 
certain event with great glee. He said 
he had been playing his little game on 
the dozens for several days, sometimes 
winning, more often losing. One day 
just after he had lost his last bit, he put 


160 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


his hands in his pocket and took out a 
little bottle of white tablets. Immediate¬ 
ly there was a signal and the table was 
surrounded by valets and inspectors all 
ready to whisk his (presumably) dead 
body away, but my friend was only tak¬ 
ing a digestive tablet, since he was a 
great sufferer from indigestion. He said 
he hadn’t any idea his tiny game was 
being watched but he felt the eyes of 
everyone on him and, looking up, real¬ 
ized it was all on account of his little 
bottle. So amusing, n'est ce pas ? 

Eleanora darling, I shall keep my 
promise and not bother you with too 
long a letter this time. Life is getting 
dull here. We do wish something would 
happen. I am off to the Casino. 

Yours devotedly, 


Ysobel. 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


161 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

The something I wished for has hap¬ 
pened!! 

Something really thrilling. Did I 
write you about a certain Count who 
was here last season with his yacht and 
a party of friends'? If I did you will re¬ 
member I told you how he had thrown 
oyer a certain music hall actress. Well, 
he had with him last year with his 
yachting party a certain young woman 
of good family whom he intended to 
marry. This didn’t please the actress 
and one evening at the Sporting Club 
she gave him a black eye. Since then he 
has been married, and a few evenings 
ago he appeared with his bride at din¬ 
ner in our hotel. The actress had al¬ 
ready installed herself with a party of 
friends at the table next to his. How¬ 
ever she knew he was to be there I do 
not know, but when he entered the door 
of the dining room there was constema- 


162 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


tion written all over his face. He grew 
white, and his young bride looked 
frightened, but there was nothing else 
to do but brave it out, and take their 
seats at their table. The actress was 
all covered with the jewels the Count 
had given her, while the little bride was 
simply dressed, with almost no jewels 
at all. The Count put on a haughty air, 
as the little actress looked around and 
bowed to him. He threw his head up as 
if in defiance of her. She immediately 
sent a ringing peal of laughter through¬ 
out the dining room, so ill-bred of her 
—to say the least. 

We all pitied the poor little bride, 
who sat so demurely by, and could do 
nothing. If rich noblemen will have 
their fling with these stage beauties 
they must take the consequences, even 
if they find them embarrassing, when 
they wish to marry. I am afraid they 
learn their lessons just,a little too late 
for their piece of mind. The Count and 
his bride left the hotel the next day, 
and the little actress, also. Whether 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


163 


she is still following him about or not, 
we are wondering. 

I heard a good story last evening at 
the Sporting Club, and thought at once 
of you. If my idle tales of Monte Carlo 
and its scandals amuse you long enough 
to make you forget your bed of pain, I 
shall be more than glad in the telling. 
Well, it seems that there was an Ameri¬ 
can girl here for a short stay in passing 
through to Egypt on one of the steam¬ 
ers which touch here. She, like every¬ 
one else who comes here, wanted to try 
her luck at the gambling tables. She 
played all day and evening, winning so 
heavily, that she was afraid to go alone 
to her hotel with so much money, so she 
asked a friend of mine if he would walk 
home with her. She told him next day 
that she had cabled her brother in New 
York to sell everything she possessed 
and cable the money to her, as she 
would not let pass such a chance to get 
rich. In the meantime she cancelled her 
ticket to the Orient, and waited here 
for her money to arrive. When it came, 
she commenced to play again, but, alas, 


164 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

{• *«***&■ 

fortune this time did not favor her. One 
day she won, the next she lost, but she 
persevered playing with fate until at 
last everything she had won, and all 
her money from America had gone the 
same way, into the bank of the Casino. 

Poor disillusioned girl! There are 
many like her. Alas, Monte Carlo is full 
of old men and women who have lost 
everything here, and cannot get away. 
They no longer play, yet they go to the 
Casino every day, hanging around the 
tables, looking on, with feverish eyes, 
sometimes venturing a white piece (five 
franc) once more. Sometimes they win, 
sometimes they lose, as is the chance 
of the game for everyone alike. It is 
really the rich man’s sport, for who else 
can afford to play with fortune, except 
one who has enough to lose? Scarcely 
a day passes that one does not hear of 
another suicide. The latest was an Eng¬ 
lishwoman who shot herself. She lived 
six days unconscious at the hospital, 
where they took her, then died without 
having regained consciousness. They 
buried her the very next day (as is the 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


165 


law here) in the suicide’s cemetery up 
on the hill, and gave her little daughter 
her ticket home to England. 

No one ever blames the Casino for 
whatever happens in this sort of thing 
as no one is forced to play. One comes 
of one’s own free will and choice, 
and plays or not as one wills, and if one 
wins (as some do) so much the better, 
but one must take one’s chance with 
this game as with all others. 

I heard yesterday of a woman who 
had been saying things derogatory to 
the way the Casino was run. This is 
never permitted here, and if it is re¬ 
ported to the Casino authorities that 
person is expelled from the Principali¬ 
ty, as the woman in question was. One 
needs to be very careful what one says 
no matter whether in one’s hotel or 
talking with a friend, for the place is 
absolutely full of spies and detectives. 
One never knows if one’s dearest friend 
is in the employ of the Casino or not. 
Many of the people one meets here live 
on their wage as tale bearer. I, myself, 
have no complaint to make, as I have 


166 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


won each season, enough to cover all 
my play, and come away with many 
souvenirs of the tables. Perhaps that 
needs explaining to the uninitiated. 
What we mean by “ souvenirs of the 
tables’’ is that when one has had a 
phenomenal afternoon’s winnings, one 
goes out and buys a jewel or some little 
thing and says, 4 1 this is what the Casi¬ 
no at Monte Carlo has given me.” The 
one great piece of news today is that 
divorce papers have just been served 
on a young bride here. She has been 
quite the sensation of the Sporting 
Club for the last few weeks. She was a 
young governess in a wealthy New 
York home, and upon the death of the 
wife the old husband, who is a multi¬ 
millionaire, married her. Last year she 
was at Palm Beach, I am told, spending 
his money like water, and this year we 
have the amusement of seeing the 
‘ ‘ finale” here. We have watched her 
play every evening, and as she played 
heavily at baccarat, she cannot help 
attract a crowd of onlookers. Unfor¬ 
tunately for her, she did not hide the 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


167 


fact that she had a young man friend 
with her. He was at her side always, 
and she did not hesitate to pass him 
mille franc notes to play with, when¬ 
ever his small capital was exhausted. 
The aged husband looked on, saying 
nothing, but he must have tired of pay¬ 
ing the bills for three, for they all three 
left together for Paris, and he for 
America, she returning here with the 
young man friend. Yesterday, the news 
went around “The Rooms” that this 
morning she had had divorce papers 
served upon her. We are wondering 
what next? Will she stay on, or will 
she immediately hurry over to New 
York to contest the case? Foolish girl, 
to lose her millionaire husband for a 
poor count (for I believe he is said to 
have a title). We shall see. I am going 
to the Sporting Club this evening, and 
I will write you in my next letter if she 
is still here. 

Eleanora darling, I must close now as 
I am going out to church. Funny thing 
to be doing in Monte Carlo, is it not? 
Well, I assure you we do not spend all 


168 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


our time at “The Rooms.” Just now it 
is Lent and there is a series of very in¬ 
teresting lectures at the church in the 
Boulevard des Moulins. 

Another thing, both my husband and 
myself make it a rule not to play on 
Sunday. An revoir , cherie , et iientot 
Do write me oftener, and next time tell 
me about yourself, you dearest of dear 
women. Always suffering, yet so cheer¬ 
ful and happy, and never speaking of 
yourself. If you do not tell me 
exactly how you are I shall come home 
and—beat you. 

Yours very lovingly, 

Ysobel. 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


169 


Eleanora Dearest,— 

I went to the Sporting Club last 
night as I promised, and she was not 
there. They say she and her friend 
disappeared this morning by the first 
train. No wonder! She must be wor¬ 
ried to know where money is to come 
from to pay her heavy expenses. No 
one worries about a woman who has so 
many jewels, however, as Monte Carlo 
is full of Monte de Pieta (in other 
words pawn shops) where the monthly 
sales produce some wonderful pearls 
and jewels. 

Why she wanted to be so indiscreet 
when she has only just got her rich 
husband after a life of toil and self- 
denial, is more than I see. 

Every day this week a woman has 
been to me to ask me if I will buy her 
pearls as she has not money enough to 
pay her hotel bill. So our fair friend 


170 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


can always pawn her pearls, as so 
many others have done before her. 

Neverthless, Monte Carlo replaces 
one interesting person with another, 
and just now, the high season is on, and 
so many beautiful women and interest¬ 
ing things are all coming together. 
Last evening La Belle Otero was at the 
Club, loaded down with wonderful 
pearls, and playing very heavily. She 
was a winner, too, and that fact always 
attracts a crowd of onlookers, trying to 
find out how it is done. Often the small 
player follows the play of so heavy a 
winner, to catch the crumbs under the 
rich man’s table, as it were. We were 
late at the Club, last evening, as there 
was a gala performance at the Opera 
of Sadko, the wonderful Russian opera 
of Rimski Korsakoff. Besides being a 
gala performance of the opera, there 
was a gala audience as well. 

Koutnezoff was there, looking more 
wonderfully beautiful than ever, and 
attracting a great crowd about her 
in the foyer between the acts, when all 
the world (the opera world) goes out 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


171 


to promenade. The Royal box was oc¬ 
cupied by the Princess Letitia, Duch¬ 
ess d’ Aoste 66 et les personnes de sa 
suite” It is always a thrilling moment 
at the Opera de gala when the orchestra 
commences to play the Hymns Mone- 
gasque, followed (in this case) by the 
Hymne Italien, as the entire audience 
rises to its feet and stands at attention 
facing the Royal box. A curious inci¬ 
dent forced itself upon our attention. 
Down in the front row stood a person 
who would not turn around and face 
the Royal box. It seems that she was a 
Russian Grand Duchess before the war 
and still considers herself superior in 
rank to those in the Royal box, there¬ 
fore she stood facing the stage and 
never turned around once. Most amus¬ 
ing all this is n’est ce pas% 

In this opera of Riniski Korsakoff’s 
there is a scene at the bottom of the 
sea, in and around the Cave of Neptune. 
In this scene moving pictures were 
used, which no doubt were made for the 
occasion in the Oceanic Museum of the 
Prince of Monaco for there were all 


172 


LETTERS PROM MONTE CARLO 


kinds of curious water snakes fighting 
with each other, and many curious 
kinds of fish swimming about. The 
opera was sung in Russian by a Rus¬ 
sian Company but the ballet was the 
regular ballet of the Monte Carlo 
Opera Co. 

In the foyer, walking about between 
the acts were many well known artists, 
opera singers and celebrities. Beauti¬ 
ful Mme. Koutnezoff was there, wear¬ 
ing her gorgeous emeralds, which were 
even rivaled by those worn by our 
charming Mrs. McCormack, the wife of 
John McCormack, the singer. He, by 
the way, is giving a season of concerts 
and opera here with such enormous 
success, much to our pride and joy. 

What a joy life is, to be sure, in this 
heavenly spot on the Riviera. The full 
season is now on, all the flowers are in 
bloom, the sunshine more brilliant than 
one can imagine who has not exper¬ 
ienced it on the shores of the blue Med¬ 
iterranean. Sitting at a little table out 
of doors in front of the Cafe de Paris to 
take our morning coffee, we listen to 


.,!&#*** 



Cafe’ de Paris, opposite the Casino 




































































LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


173 


the music of the orchestra which plays 
here every morning, with the glori¬ 
ous sunshine pouring down upon us, 
the scent of flowers all about us 
from the gardens in front, and 
watching the passing of fashionable 
world on its way to the terrace for 
the morning promenade. What could 
be more delightful? The Cunard 
liner Caronia came in this morning 
on its trip to Egypt. Imagine our 
excitement at the thought of seeing 
someone from home. Our wishing came 
true. We saw many dear friends, 
all looking as happy and expectant 
as a visit to Monte Carlo usually 
inspires. Their first question was, 
“Where is the Casino?” “Eight behind 
you,” we said. “That superb palace,” 
they replied, “why we thought that 
must be the palace of the Prince of 
Monaco.” Their one idea was to see the 
Casino, not only from the outside, but 
from the inside as well and to risk a five 
franc piece for themselves. “Do come in 
and show us what to do,” they implor¬ 
ed. Naturally we were only too pleas- 


174 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

Xi'wm 

ed to be of use and so into the Casino we 
went for the first time in our lives, in 
the forenoon. I, myself, was surprised 
to see a crowd so very early in the 
morning, but at this hour we saw only 
professionals and the habitual gambler. 
What a contrast to the beautiful sun¬ 
shine outside. Electric lights and stuffy 
smoky atmosphere, but our friends 
were all excitement to try their luck. 
“You won’t tell the folks at home that 
we came in here, will you?” they 
begged. “We only want to see if we 
can break the bank of Monte Carlo as 
we have so often heard it is done.” “I 
am afraid you will hardly do it with a 
five franc piece,” I said. “Well, you 
tell us how to play and I am sure we 
will.” I disclaimed all such responsi¬ 
bility, and suggested they should just 
play red or black, which gave them an 
even chance with the bank to win. 
Great was the excitement when one 
won, and alas, great was the disap¬ 
pointment when it was all lost on the 
second spin. “Anyway, don’t tell, will 
you,” was the general request. I heard 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


175 


one of the party saying, “What would 
the family at home say to see me here.” 
They seemed to feel a secret joy in the 
fact that they had ventured into such 
a place as the Casino at Monte Carlo. 
Now I suppose they will go home and 
take with them the memory of one of 
the most thrilling experiences of their 
lives. How little they knew of the trag¬ 
edies of many of the people about them. 
How little they really knew of the 
game, or the place. They had had an 
hour’s experience, had done exactly 
what they had always longed to do, 
“just see the place and try their luck,” 
and were no wiser or richer for the ex¬ 
perience. Anyway, it was nice to see 
them here, even for a day and to speak 
English once more as it is spoken in 
America, where the purest English in 
the world is spoken, although you 
would never be able to convince an 
Englishman of that. I could never quite 
see the justice of their claim to speak¬ 
ing English correctly when they say, 
“How taresome” for “How tiresome,” 
and “Re-ah-lee” for “Really,” and 


176 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


“Poo-ah thing” for “Poor thing,” and 
a thousand other peculiar pronuncia¬ 
tions all their own. Nothing amuses me 
more than when an English person asks 
me if anybody in America speaks Eng¬ 
lish, or if everybody speaks American. 
I am afraid I am diverging. Never 
mind we meet with strange people and 
stranger experiences here. Mind you, 
I’m not saying we do not meet most 
charming and delightful people here, 
we do, and love them, every one. I think 
it is wise to close here or I may say 
something I shouldn’t. Mind you write 
me oftener or get your little friend to 
write for you if you are not feeling up 
to the mark. 

We hope to hear you are much better 
after the new treatment you wrote 
about. 

We send you more and more love and 
wish we could waft you a little of the 
sea breeze and a ray or two of this 
brilliant sunshine. 

Until next time then, 

Very lovingly 

k Ysobel. 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


177 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

Today being the Prince’s birthday 
the Casino is closed. It is the only day 
in the entire year that there is no play 
at “The Rooms” as this Casino keeps 
open the year round, Sundays and holi¬ 
days included. Being free from the al¬ 
luring lights, which attract us moths, 
we spent the day enjoying the drives 
and walks about Monte Carlo. So few 
who come here realize what beauties 
are all about one. Early this morning 
Hercules Rock was on fire with the 
glorious sun-rise, and the Prince’s 
Palace looked in the magic flame like 
a strange Valhalla. Over there on the 
Rock is the town of Monaco, where red 
roofs crowd so closely together. Every¬ 
body there lives in one way or another 
by the Casino. No one who is not Mon- 
egasque by birth is allowed to live on 
the Rock, where most of the croupiers 


17,8 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


of the Casino, and their families have 
houses, and probably many are shop¬ 
keepers down in the Condamine, where 
the cheaper hotels and lodging houses 
are. None of these hotels, shops, or even 
the very luxurious ones in Monte Carlo 
proper would exist at all were it not for 
the Casino, and the losses of all the rich 
people who come here and literally feed 
it with money. 

Opposite the Rock of Hercules rises 
a great mountain, whose outline sug¬ 
gests the form of a great dog guarding 
the harbour below, therefore it is called 
the Tete de Chien. 

We decided to spend the morning 
walking up to La Turbie, and down 
again. Our hearts were singing as we 
walked up the mule path among the 
olive trees; the peasants coming down 
from the mountains, on their donkeys, 
or walking, their boots rattling on the 
cobble stones, were singing, too, in 
their peculiar dialect, neither French 
nor Italian, but a mixture of both which 
has deeended from the days when the 
Saracens ruled the coast. This coun- 


LETTERS PROM MONTE CARLO 


m 


try once belonged to the Ligurians be¬ 
fore the Romans took it, after two hun¬ 
dred years of hard fighting. One still 
sees many types among the higher hills 
and mountains, where are still to be 
found many ruined forts which are the 
emblems of Augustus Caesar’s triumph 
over the Ligurian tribes. It was good 
to be here in this bright early morning 
away from the hectic life we had been 
living for so long. We asked our¬ 
selves why we did not oftener steal 
away from the allurement of the Casi¬ 
no, which seems to hold its devotees 
with a golden chain. Alas, many have 
asked themselves this question, too 
late. We were determined that nothing 
should spoil the charm of this wonder¬ 
ful freedom in the glorious sunshine of 
the hills. 

Now and then, as we walked up the 
mountain, we met some dark-eyed 
peasant to whom we spoke in either 
Italian or French, for although they 
use their own peculiar dialect among 
themselves, they could well understand 
the language we used, be it one or the 


180 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


other, and we easily made out what 
they were trying to reply to us. For 
instance “two” in French is deux, and 
in Italian is due, but in their mixture 
of the two languages it had become do 
(pronounced dough). 

On the top of the mountain we break¬ 
fasted at a little pink hotel built in the 
Moorish style. 

We took a table at the window, where 
we could look below upon the pink 
roofs of Monte Carlo and upon the 
sparkling sunshine on the Mediter¬ 
ranean. We could also see, on the 
height half way down, Tour de Sup- 
plice, where the Eomans are said to 
have tortured and executed their pris¬ 
oners. Alas, that these cruelties were 
practiced beneath God’s heavens even 
in those ancient days, and again, alas, 
that these hotels below, have since been 
housing our own poor tortured soldiers 
who were wounded in the world’s great 
war. 

After breakfast we walked by the 
mule path on to the town of La Tjdur- 
bie, this little place of pink and blue 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


181 


and yellow houses all with red tiled 
roofs so typical of the Jewish race 
which sought refuge here from perse¬ 
cutions in the middle ages. 

Among the ruins of the ancient walls, 
archaeologists have worked for years, 
unearthing buried treasures in the 
shape of old fragments with writings 
upon them which they were trying to 
decipher. They had already unearthed 
broken bits of statuary, pieces of 
carved cornices, and treasures which 
had been buried there for centuries. 
After an hour spent talking to the 
workmen, we decided to follow the 
mule path to the village of Roque- 
brune. What joy to smell the sweet in¬ 
cense of nature, fragrant with mimosa, 
and bouganville, and all the sweet 
smells of growing things after so many 
days passed in the smoky atmosphere 
of “The Rooms’’ which are filled with 
odors of bodies and tobacco smoke. 

What a different world was this we 
were approaching. Before us, we saw 
the ruined castle of Roquebrune which 
was said to have slid down from the 


182 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


point above, and to have been arrested 
by a miracle wrought by the Virgin 
Mary, and settled into the mountain 
side. The town of Roquebrune had been 
built by robbing the ruined castle of 
brick and stone. Such queer little 
houses, all crowded together and hug¬ 
ging the rock, as if in fear of another 
earthquake coming, to again punish 
them for the sins of the inhabitants. 
The houses hang on ledges and bould¬ 
ers, the streets were tunnels, with vis¬ 
tas of long steep stairways running up 
and down, and sideways, over the sides 
of the rugged mountain, over ledges 
and great boulders, terminating just 
nowhere. They seemed to have no be¬ 
ginning or ending. All the mountain 
side is under cultivation. Tiny little 
trees loaded down with tangerines, giv¬ 
ing color to the scene, fruits, vegeta¬ 
bles, vines, and the inevitable little 
shops where the peasants sell their 
wines, confetti, macaroni, olive oils, 
and lemons. 

Here, in a little shop which clung to 
the precipice, we drank of the wine of 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


183 


the country, and ate of bread and 
cheese. Never had sumptuous feast 
tasted sweeter. Resting awhile in the 
grape arbor behind the shop, we list¬ 
ened to the bees, and watched them 
gathering honey from the roses which 
hung over the arbor. After this we 
made our way down by the winding 
path to the dusty road bordering the 
Mediterranean which leads back to 
Monte Carlo. Just at the corner where 
France ends and Monaco begins were 
two beggars. They kept well over the 
French line, as begging is strictly for¬ 
bidden in the Principality of Monaco. 
One is an old man who has a tiny hut 
close by. He has been a landmark here 
for nearly twenty years. The other is 
a dwarf, with a hump. Many a dollar 
has this dwarf earned by the supersti¬ 
tious players from the Casino, who come 
to rub his hump for luck. They say he 
is quite a rich man, owing to this well 
known superstition. As we passed, 
these two beggers were having their 
feast all spread out on a newspaper, on 
the old stone wall. Black bread stuffed 


184 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


with salad and cheese, and luscious ripe 
figs, a feast truly fit for the gods. As 
we passed they called to us, asking 
alms, and we, wishing to propitiate the 
gods, threw them our offering. 

Resuming our way toward Monte 
Carlo, we stopped to call upon a very 
old friend who lived in the Villa Santa 
Anna. Every one knows of her wild 
play at the Casino and of her losses. 
Many years ago she had spent four hun¬ 
dred thousand francs on her beautiful 
villa which now is nearly in ruins. Long 
ago, however, it had gone back to this 
wilderness. The splendid furniture had 
lost its gilding—and the rich velvets 
and brocades were in tatters. The gar¬ 
dens which were formerly kept up by 
a dozen gardeners, more or less, were 
now neglected. Poor Madame herself 
was in keeping with the rest of the 
ruins, yet she had a charm which still 
attracts the limit monde to her, in spite 
of the desolation and decay about her. 
She rarely visits “The Rooms,” and 
then only to wander about. She never 
plays. Poor dear 7 we are really very 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


185 


fond of her, and even of an afternoon 
when we have a choice of several invi¬ 
tations to tea, we willingly forego all, 
to pay a visit to Madame in her dilapi¬ 
dated villa. She has always her salons 
full of flowers which her friends send 
her, and the place seems vibrant with 
echoes of the past. We spent a wonder¬ 
ful half hour with her, living again with 
her the days long past when Eugenie 
was her contemporary and friend, list¬ 
ening to her tales of when Queen Vic¬ 
toria visited Chateau Malet, the home 
of the Duke of Bedford, which is 
farther along the coast on the road to 
Nice, now, alas deserted, and waiting 
for a purchaser. This wonderful place, 
by the way, has rooms for forty ser¬ 
vants, and at least twenty suites of 
sitting rooms and bed rooms for guests. 
After taking leave of our dear old 
friend, we beckoned to a cocher who 
was on the carriage stand across the 
way, and took his victoria back to 
Monte Carlo, as we were too tired to 
walk further. Arriving at our hotel, in 
the Place de Casino, we sat at a window 


186 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


table to have our tea, where we could 
look back at the mountains and see 
Roquebrune, and the wonderful village 
snuggled so tightly against the moun¬ 
tain side, where we had just been. The 
hotel was crowded this afternoon, it 
being, as I said, the Prince’s birthday, 
and the Casino closed in celebration of 
the event. Flags are flying everywhere, 
the red and yellow flag of the Princi¬ 
pality, which made the scene from the 
windows most gay. In the great en¬ 
trance hall, where we sat for tea, were 
gathered together all the fashion and 
wealth of the society which gathers 
here from all the world. Dukes, duch¬ 
esses, a king (incognito), princes of In¬ 
dia, millionaires from America, cele¬ 
brated singers and actresses—Monte 
Carlo is truly an amusing place. 

In the evening there were fireworks 
on the terrace of the Casino, where nil 
the Monegasques came to help cele¬ 
brate, and all the people from the Con- 
damin and Beaulieu as well as the visi¬ 
tors to Monte Carlo, for all wished to 
participate in the celebration of the 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


187 


birthday of the Prince. Alas, I believe 
he is in Paris, where he spends most of 
his time when he is not on his yacht, 
hunting for new specimens for his 
oceanic museum, where are to be seen 
the most wonderful specimens of deep 
sea fish which have ever been collected. 
After all, it had been one of the most 
delightful days we have spent here, and 
we are promising ourselves we will 
never again spend days of sunshine 
shut up in the Casino, when there is so 
much beauty outside to enjoy, and so 
many beautiful walks and drives all 
about here. It has been such a day of 
joy that I can still feel it permeating 
my whole being, and I wish so much 
you were here to enjoy it with us, in¬ 
stead of being shut in your hospital 
room upon a bed of pain. Some day 
soon we are going for a walk to the 
town of Eze and I will write you about 
it later on. If my letters help to dis¬ 
tract your mind a little from your suf¬ 
ferings I shall be so glad. 

Best greetings from us both, and a 


188 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


waft of this wonderful sea air to you, 
as a greeting from Monte Carlo. 

Yours from a very loving heart, 
Devotedly, 


Ysobel. 


LETTERS PROM MONTE CARLO 


189 


Dearest Eleanora,— 

As I told you once before, Monte 
Carlo is a place of superstitions. Today 
being full of memories of our delight¬ 
ful day of yesterday, I had no desire to 
play, so I wandered about “The 
Rooms” among the tables looking on 
and listening to the conversations 
about me. When one is not playing one 
sits upon luxurious couches provided by 
the Casino for its patrons. Well, as I 
was resting and amusing myself by the 
brilliant sight before me, an old friend 
came and sat beside me. “How is it 
going*?” I inquired. “It isn’t going,” 
said my friend, mysteriously, “it’s com¬ 
ing.” “Have you a new system*?” I 
asked. “Ho,” she replied, “something 
better than any system. It is my spirit 
guides.” “Really,” I ventured, “and 
how do they help you?” “I cannot ex¬ 
actly explain, but I seem to hear a num¬ 
ber whispered in my brain.” “And do 


190 LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 

they always whisper correctly?” I 
asked. “Now you are scoffing,” said 
she, “I thought you were more enlight¬ 
ened. Do you not read the new books 
of Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir Arthur Conan 
Doyle, and the Rev. Vale Owen?” She 
turned away scornfully. “My dear, I 
am not a scoffer, just an enquirer.” I 
assured her. I was really thinking in 
my heart that it must be a very low 
form of spiritual development which 
still lingered about a gaming table, and, 
as such, not to be depended on. More 
like the ghosts of suicides, I thought, 
who went out in despair at their losses, 
and were doing penance in this place, 
to fulfil an interrupted karma. 

The belief in charms and mascots is 
widely prevalent here among the habi¬ 
tues of “The Rooms.” I used to think 
that they brought all these queer things 
with them to “The Rooms” such as lit¬ 
tle boxes, elephants and all sorts of 
funny charms, which they placed be¬ 
fore them on the tables because it was a 
fashion, and rather “comme il faut .” 
Not at all, they believe in them. They 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO lai 

bring ivory pigs, gold thirteens, the 
hand of Fatima, also in gold, and all 
sorts of queer things. Some have their 
lucky gems, or pieces of jewelry,, or 
wear special colors which they think 
will bring them good fortune. The shop 
windows display numerous devices and 
amulets. Bracelets and rings of ele¬ 
phant’s skin, with gold bands. Some 
are made of the skin of a snake,, or a 
rat’s tail. One man was in the habit 
of bringing to “The Rooms” a small 
live tortoise which he kept in his coat 
pocket and touched now and again. 
Pretty cocottes often pose as mascots. 
They will stand by a player when they 
see him winning, and smilingly suggest 
that it is they who have brought him 
good luck. They rarely fail in this way 
to receive a few louis to play with. Some 
of the players who use mascots do not 
do so openly. They will keep them in 
their bags or pockets and finger them 
surreptitiously, thinking no one will 
see them. But the usual thing is to see 
them displayed openly on the tables 
before the player. I know a woman 


192 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


here who has many and most beautiful 
jewels, yet if she wears rubies, and 
loses, she will assert that it is the rubies 
which have no luck, and the next day 
she will appear wearing emeralds, or 
diamonds or pearls. I heard her say 
that she was sure all precious stones 
were inhabited by spirits which become 
offended if the owner shut them up in 
a dark place and did not permit them 
to enjoy life with her. This woman has 
a wonderful set of emeralds, rings, ear¬ 
rings, pins, bracelets, necklaces, and 
she asserts that if she leaves one piece 
at home she cannot win. That is why 
she is called “The Emerald Lady .’ 7 
Emeralds, you know, as a general thing 
are considered unlucky. No bride will 
wear them, no young girl will have one 
for an engagement ring, and a green 
dress is sure to bring bad luck. I heard 
one woman say, “I don’t see how she 
has the courage to wear green. I never 
bought a green dress that I did not 
have to put on mourning immediately 
for some member of my family.” I 
used to think that people pretended to 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


193 


believe in their silly superstitions, but 
since spending my winters on the 
Riviera, I realize that all the supersti¬ 
tions are very real to them. 

To go back a little I must tell you 
that the 66 Emerald Lady” and her 
husband are supposed to be a Russian 
grand duke and duchess incognito. Her 
husband certainly looks magnificent 
enough to be something interesting. He 
plays a very modest game, never more 
than a few louis at a time. I heard him 
saying to one of his friends, “I would 
have heart failure, if I played as heavi¬ 
ly as my wife does.” In standing be¬ 
hind her, one day, I heard the croupier 
ask her if she won a great deal, to which 
she replied with a shrug of her shoul¬ 
ders, “I win, I lose; je m’ amuse,” 
which seems to be the understood thing 
at Monte Carlo. One very dear old lady 
friend who is deaf told me it was the 
only amusement she had. She does not 
play bridge, she cannot hear either at 
the theatre or opera, neither can she 
hear at the concerts, so what is there 
left for her in the way of amusement, 


194 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


except reading, of which she tires after 
awhile, but at the tables, “I amuse my¬ 
self very well,” she said, “for I do not 
need to hear, I can see everything for 
myself, provided I get a seat near the 
croupier.” 

It is not really an extravagance, if 
one considers it as an amusement. For 
instance, we have English friends who 
come here every year, who tell us they 
lay aside so much money each year for 
amusement. If the}" find it amusing to 
see the haut monde from all over the 
world, and to be among them playing 
a very moderate game, “what is the dif¬ 
ference between 'that and bridge, ‘or 
spending money at the theater?” they 
ask. “As for its being wicked to play, 
that is as may be,” they say. Times 
change and we with the times. 

When I was a child my parents never 
allowed a pack of cards in the house, 
believing them to be the instruments of 
the devil. What would they say today 
to see all the world motoring on Sunday 
or going to the Casino to play. In most 
European cities, all the theatres are 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


195 


open on Sundays, as they are in many 
of our western cities in America. Many 
are the arguments I hear on all sides. 
One will say what is the difference be¬ 
tween this game and the stock ex¬ 
change? One loses there as often as 
here. One takes a chance on a piece of 
property one buys. As often as not it 
loses its value. Should it increase in 
value so much is winnings, n’est ce pas , 
chevied After all it is all a matter of 
early teachings and the law of the 
country in which we live. 

There is no law against gambling in 
France, in fact the government takes a 
hand by licensing gambling places and 
taking so much per cent of the win¬ 
nings. France has lottery drawing 
bonds with sometimes four drawings a 
year. 

One rule they have at Monte Carlo, 
of which all the world would approve, 
is that a person earning a salary can¬ 
not enter “The Rooms.’’ For instance, 
my dame de compagnie was most 
anxious to see “The Rooms” and watch 
the distinguished players and the 


196 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


celebrities there. She was not al¬ 
lowed. When she applied at the en¬ 
trance door for a ticket, they asked her 
her employment, and since she said 
“infirmiere” she was refused. “Why 
may she not enters’ I asked. “She is 
my dame de compagnie .” “No one earn¬ 
ing a living is allowed to enter, it is one 
of our rules,’’ was the reply. I moved 
heaven and earth to get her admitted. 
It was of no use, not even Monsieur 
Blanc himself would allow her to 
enter. A very good rule, I am sure you 
will agree. A most amusing thing hap¬ 
pened at the tables this afternoon. I 
sat down to play with rather a large hat 
on, since I had just come from a tea and 
was “all dressed up,” as my little niece 
would say. A very rude man in the 
crowd behind me pushed and leaned so 
over my hat that it was crushed over 
my eyes which greatly inconvenienced 
me as I could not see to play. I finally 
became exasperated, realizing that this 
was his method of annoying me so that 
I would have to leave the table and he 
would get my seat. So I turned and 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


197 


said, “ Monsieur , gardez mon chapeau 
s’il vous plait” u Ce n’est pas un cha¬ 
peau” he rudely remarked, “c’est une 
ombrelle” (In English: “Monsieur, 
take care of my hat, if you please!” 
“It isn’t a hat,” he rudely remarked, 
“it’s an umbrella.”) No one remem¬ 
bers their manners here, so demoraliz¬ 
ing is the eager greed for money. If you 
are bumped into, in hurrying to find a 
place at the tables, no one stops and 
says “excuse me,” not at all. He glares 
at you and asks you if you can’t see 
where you are going. One dear old lady, 
very old, by the way, a well known 
opera singer, used to come here season 
after season, wearing a man’s coat and 
vest, but a very feminine bonnet, all 
frills and laces. We used to call her 
“Politesse” because whenever anyone 
standing behind her reached over to 
play, disarranging her little bonnet she 
would always turn and say, u TJn peu de 
politesse , sHl vous plait” (a little po¬ 
liteness, if you please). 

I bought a new system today and 
brought it to “The Rooms” with me to 


198 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 


try. I saw it in a shop window. It is 
called, “The Advice of a Croupier.” I 
shall not pin my faith upon it, as, I am 
sure, were it infallible it would not be 
allowed to be sold. Nevertheless, play¬ 
ers are always ready to try some new 
way of playing and are always certain 
the newest find is the one which will 
“break the bank.” 

I heard a statement today that up to 
the present time this season the bank 
has made twenty-four million francs. 
In January alone they say they made 
nine million, can you imagine it? No 
wonder all these occasional rumors of 
closing the Casino are false. Who would 
close a place which made such enor¬ 
mous returns to the stockholders. 

Eleanora darling, we are leaving to¬ 
morrow to go for a little stay at San 
Sebastian to see the gay world there, 
and to have a motor trip up to Paris. 
You may be sure we will return here 
next season. Who can resist Monte 
Carlo, and the beautiful Riviera, once 
having been here. It is as irresistible 
as “The Call of the Blood” to the hero 


LETTERS FROM MONTE CARLO 199 

of that fascinating Sicilian romance of 
Robert Hichens. 

An revoir , ma cherie. I may run over 
to America in the meantime to see for 
myself how you are. Anticipating the 
joy of the ocean trip, and of seeing you 
once more,—and folding you in a lov¬ 
ing embrace, 

Yours very fondly, 


Ysobel. 


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